


Unwritten

by unniebee



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Knotting, M/M, Major Illness, Multiple Partners, Science Fiction, Self-Lubrication, Serious Injuries, Size Kink, Tentacles, Threesome, abo dynamics (sorta), brief non-con (no sex), non-human anatomy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-27 23:52:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 84,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8422594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unniebee/pseuds/unniebee
Summary: On a planet that has no plants, Baekhyun suddenly acquires one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buttercream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercream/gifts).



> Happy belated birthday to Line, without whom I would never get any writing done.
> 
> Special thanks to C for betaing this, and O for reading it over before I posted.
> 
> Will be updating every day.

A crashing noise wakes Baekhyun in the middle of the night, but not for very long. This is Kohara, after all. Crashing noises are not uncommon. Baekhyun lays still on his bed and listens, but when no other noises follow, he figures it was just someone out on the street, and rolls over to go back to sleep.

He barely remembers the interruption in the morning. That is, until he goes out onto his tiny balcony, intent on relaxing for a bit before he has to leave - and immediately has to turn around, swearing.

There’s a hole in his balcony.

With the door safely closed and sealed, Baekhyun un-dims the radiation shade, just enough that he can see through it without burning his eyes. There is _definitely_ a hole in his balcony, as if someone shot into the polymer glass, blasting it open and letting the searing light of Kohara’s giant red sun streak through.

The weird thing is, though, that the shot - or whatever - didn’t come from below. Judging from the placement of the hole in his glass, it seems to have come from _above_. Which makes little sense, considering Baekhyun is on the forty-second floor of a fifty-floor tenement, the tallest one in the immediate vicinity. He’d chosen this building specifically _because_ it was so tall, saved every extra bit of his pay for two years so he could afford it, high above the noise and the danger of the crowded streets below. And his tiny balcony is his favorite part of his tiny, too-expensive living quarters, a place where he can observe the pulse of the city without being in danger from it.

Stepping to the side, Baekhyun cranes his neck to see into all corners of his now-ruined sanctuary. He’s horrified, but not surprised, to see a hole in the floor of his balcony as well. Or… not a hole, exactly. A _dent_. The floor is made from military-grade polymer-composite concrete and is meant to withstand basically anything, another selling point of this too-expensive apartment. But there is a sizeable crater, as if something very heavy hit it at a very high speed.

Baekhyun looks and looks, shifting around to get a better angle through the shield, but as far as he can see, there’s nothing at the center of the crater. He half expects to see a meteorite - though most objects get burnt up before they get through the atmosphere, falling space-rock is not _entirely_ unheard of, and at that angle, it’s as good an explanation as anything - but there’s nothing there.

Huffing, Baek dims his shield and takes his breakfast back to his kitchen. He’ll deal with it later.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Later, as it turns out, ends up being even later than he anticipated. His shift at the emergency center ends up running extra long, thanks to a street fight that got out of control a few blocks away. Half a dozen people are in critical condition, humans and Koharans alike, and Baekhyun ends up staying to assist the surgeries. He crashes on a cot at the center for a bare six hours before his next shift is set to begin, powers through that shift on energy bars and Caff-Pacs, and finally gets home two days later, only to crash again. It’s only when he wakes up on the afternoon of the third day and, half-asleep, reaches for the door to the balcony, that he remembers.

Baekhyun raises the radiation shield just a bit, hoping against hope that it was all in his sleepy imagination and that there _isn’t_ a giant hole in his favorite spot. Unfortunately, the hole is still there, late-afternoon sunlight streaming through in beams so bright and strong they look like solid matter.

It’s too bright out to get a good look at the damage. Baekhyun closes the shield and retreats back into the cool darkness of his apartment, planning to relax with some games or something until the sun goes down.

Hours later, when the sun is a massive half-circle on the horizon, mostly blocked by the tightly-packed buildings, Baekhyun remembers that his food stores are getting low and bundles himself up to go outside. His protection cloak goes on over his tunic, then he pulls on his goggles, then he picks out a sunscarf to wrap around his head and neck. He tucks his comm device safely inside his cloak and straps his radiation counter to his wrist.

People tell stories of planets where humans can go outside without this much protection, of places like Earth where a human can walk outside completely naked and be perfectly safe. It sounds like a child’s story to Baekhyun, a fantasy tale. Even when the sun is down, any kind of prolonged exposure to Kohara’s irradiated atmosphere is lethal to humans.

Koharans can do that, but they generally don’t. Even if the radiation doesn’t sicken them, hot is hot, and bright is bright, and sunburn is still painful. They were the ones who invented sunscarves, after all, polymer-woven fabric made specifically to block radiation. Today, Baekhyun’s is deep green, cool and silky and perfectly smooth against his skin as he wraps and clips it in place. It looks cute with his pale pink tunic, his khaki-tan protection cloak.

Baekhyun doesn’t have anyone to impress, but he likes to look cute anyway.

The market is, as always, dirty, hot, and crowded shoulder-to-shoulder. Baekhyun is smaller than average for a male human, and downright tiny compared to most Koharans, but he’s learned over many years to use that to his advantage in a crowd. He slips between people, he ducks under arms, he sidles through conversations with a flash of a bright smile and a murmured “sorry!” No one pays him any mind, and he likes that.

On Kohara, anonymity is security.

He knows his route by heart, now, and manages to move quickly through the marketplace, going stall to stall to pick up groceries, a new energy pack for his console, a bright blue patterned sunscarf that catches his attention. Familiarity makes it easy for him to avoid the worst of the crowds, the worst of the fading, burning rays of sunlight. Open-air markets are hazardous to humans by their very design, but it’s not as if the Koharans are going to uproot millennia of tradition to see to the comfort of an immigrant minority, so like the rest of his race, Baekhyun has learned to deal with it, to survive.

It’s a successful trip, and there’s no rioting or fighting anywhere, so Baekhyun is in a great mood when he gets back home, whistling a little tune and bopping along. He’s in the middle of putting his purchases away when he remembers his balcony, and since he’s already all kitted up and the sun is now completely set, decides to go out and finally inspect the damage.

The moment he closes the balcony door behind him, he stops, frozen in surprise, because there is a… a _thing_. On his balcony.

Most of the sunshade is still up, and the sun has set now anyway, so Baekhyun risks taking his goggles off for a better look. He comes closer, dropping to his knees.

There’s a _plant_ growing out of the crater in his balcony.

Several things are wrong with that statement, and the biggest one is that _plants cannot grow on Kohara_. Not plants like this, anyway. All that grows on Kohara are fungi, mosses and algae, some grasses and some very hardy grains, but nothing with leaves, vines, flowers. They used to, according to geologists, and there are a few ancient, rare strains still living in sheltered caves or at the very poles where the radiation isn’t as strong, but most of the planet is completely devoid of plant life. The only stemmed plants Baekhyun has ever seen in person are the ones in museums and preservation facilities.

He remembers, once when he was a teenager, a class trip to a museum, and a carefully climate-controlled room deep underground where a dozen different plant forms imported and bred from other planets were displayed behind protective glass. Only one of them was flowering, a single, bright yellow bloom with five nearly perfect petals, and Baekhyun remembers thinking it was the most beautiful, most fragile thing he’d ever seen.

The _thing_ on his balcony is not beautiful, and it _certainly_ doesn’t seem fragile. It’s a gnarled, twisted mound of vines that comes up to his knee, already taking over the entire width of the crater.

Is _this_ what broke his glass? A plant? How? That throws the meteorite idea right out the window - uh, so to speak - but it means Baekhyun has no viable hypotheses anymore.

Curious, Baekhyun pulls off his glove and reaches out, running a single finger over the arch of a vine. He’s never touched a plant before. It feels like nothing he’s ever felt, cooler than he expected, smooth. The vine is firm, stronger than he expects it to be, but it bends when he moves it with little resistance. There are smaller, paler tendrils sprouting from the vine, and to his shock, when he touches one, it moves, uncurling slightly, as if it can feel him.

“What _are_ you?” Baekhyun asks under his breath. He turns the vines over in his hands, carefully lifts a few to inspect the stem at the center, the connection to the floor of the balcony. There are roots growing, dark brown where the rest of the plant is vibrant green, but they’re small, and they’re crawling along the surface of the concrete, gripping tight to hold the stem upright. Baekhyun half-expected to find them burrowing through the floor.

He looks up, trying to gauge the angle that sunlight would come through the broken hole in his shade glass. It’s big enough that the plant would be bathed in searing radiation for most of the day. “How aren’t you burnt to a crisp?” Baekhyun asks, as if the plant is going to answer him. “You shouldn’t exist.”

But it does exist, beautiful in its uniqueness even if it’s an aesthetically ugly little thing. Baekhyun isn’t too much of a rube to know that he has accidentally come into the possession of something precious; he has no idea what to do about it but he’s loathe to disturb it. Instead, he goes back inside and grabs his console, bringing it out onto the balcony with him.

He looks up everything he can find about plants. There’s not a lot on the subject, and what does exist is all very esoteric and academic, big words in long-dead languages. He looks for descriptions or images of plants that might match this one, even prehistoric or otherworld plants, but there’s nothing. No plant that he can find record of has this kind of shape, like a ball of vines; no plant that he can find record of grows this quickly or can survive in this level of radiation.

“You didn’t just spontaneously burst into existence,” Baekhyun mutters to the plant, “and it’s not like plants fall from the sky. Where did you come from?”

The plant does not answer him, but Baekhyun doesn’t stop talking to it. Its existence is a mystery in a lot of ways, but it is undoubtedly alive, even moving a little bit as he touches it. And he can’t seem to _stop_ touching it. He knows he probably should refrain, he has no idea what effect he might have on it, but it feels so nice under his fingertips, so cool and smooth.

Eventually, reluctantly, he goes back inside, leaving his new mystery plant as a puzzle for another day. He’s got another early shift in the morning.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

It’s hard to check on the plant in the morning before he leaves, because the sunlight this high up is completely searing. Baekhyun does try, but the most he can make out is that the plant is, in fact, still there, a small, slightly darker blob in a sea of burning red light.

Early morning shifts are usually less insane than late night shifts, but there’s a couple of patients brought in the night before who are still in critical condition, so his attention is on them until they stabilize. Then there’s the midday rush, people who tried to ignore whatever ailed them, tried to go to work or go about their day only to find themselves too hurt or sick to function a few hours later. Things don’t really calm down until midafternoon, and in a rare moment when the emergency center is quiet, Baekhyun gets on the desk console and starts poking through the hospital’s roster.

There’s a biological research department, of course. Most of the researchers are focused on diseases and on developing medications, with a few focused on physical or other forms of therapy, on mental and social disorders, on genetics. None are focused on botany, because why would they be?

Baekhyun would probably have more luck contacting a museum, but he’s hesitant to do so for two reasons. One, he has no contacts at a museum, no way to know who to talk to, who to trust. At least within the hospital, he could ask around, see if any of his fellow nurses have worked with the person before, see what their reputation might be like.

And two, he’s pretty certain anyone at a museum would insist on taking the plant away from him, moving it to a controlled environment. Baekhyun’s not ready for that, yet. He’s already attached to the weird little thing.

Digging deeper into the profiles listed on the roster, he does find something. A researcher in the disease control lab, relatively young it seems, recently graduated. He’s a doctor of human medicine, but his doctoral thesis was on the use of cloned prehistoric plant matter to provide new sources for medications and treatments.

He’s literally the only person in the entire research department who has any experience with plants, so Baekhyun notes down his name and office number. That’s all he has time to do, though - the buzzer goes off, indicating an emergency transport is about to arrive with a critical patient, so Baekhyun logs off of the console and goes to scrub up.

By the end of his shift, Baekhyun is dead tired and absolutely ready to go straight home and crash, but he hasn’t forgotten the Mystery of the Mysteriously Appearing Plant Thing, and so he drags his exhausted self up the stairs and down the hall towards the research labs.

It occurs to him, as he walks this unfamiliar part of the hospital, that he has absolutely no idea what he’s going to say to this scientist. ‘Hi, I have a plant problem and you’re the only one who might be able to help me’ sounds uncomfortably like a come-on, but how is he going to bring the subject up in any way that’s even a bit more casual? It’s not like plants are a common topic, considering they mostly _don’t exist_.

Baekhyun is still trying to decide on his opening statement when he reaches the lab in question. The door is closed, but it’s made of clear polymer glass, so Baekhyun stops and peers inside.

Is that him? Wu Yifan?

Baekhyun hadn’t realized he was Koharan. Not that that makes a difference, exactly. Koharans are fine, once the formalities are out of the way, but like, Koharans have a _lot_ of formalities.

Wu Yifan has his back to Baekhyun, but he is definitely Koharan. If his hair didn’t give him away - braided back in a complicated, silvery grey plait which starts at his crown and falls to his waist - his height would. He’s _huge_. It’s hard to tell _how_ huge through the door, but since that standard-height counter he’s leaning his hip against would come up at least to Baekhyun’s ribs, he’s guessing the guy is well over two meters tall.

There’s another man with him, sitting on the bench of some kind of scanning apparatus. A human man, probably no taller than Baekhyun himself. Yifan towers over him, tall and lean.

“Baek?”

Startled, Baekhyun jumps and spins. There’s another Koharan looming behind him, but he knows this one. Zitao, a Koharan theta who works with him down in the emergency center. He’s a nurse like Baekhyun is, and they’re on good terms.

“Hi,” Baekhyun says, kind of dumbly. Automatically, he puts his hand out, palm outwards, inviting a Koharan greeting. Tao raises his own, brushing their fingertips together to complete the gesture, his first three fingers along the outsides Baekhyun's.

Tao crowds right into Baekhyun’s space, leaning over him to see what Baekhyun is looking at. Baekhyun lets him, knowing he’s not trying to be rude - Koharans don’t have the greatest eyesight, and they have _zero_ personal boundaries.

“Are you waiting for Jongdae?” Tao asks, looking back down. Pale blond hair falls forward across deeply sun-tanned skin, into blood-red eyes with slit pupils constricted so small they’re nearly undetectable.

“No, I - who’s Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks, confused. He takes a slight step backwards, because Tao’s face is _very_ close, and this close, the difference in their size and strength is uncomfortably obvious.

Tao immediately straightens, looking sheepish. “Sorry! Kim Jongdae is the research subject in there with Yifan.”

_Yifan_. The way Tao says that makes Baekhyun wonder… “Do you know him? Dr. Wu, I mean?”

A flash of sharp teeth. Koharan smiles always look so aggressive to a human’s eyes. “Yep! All Koharans are on a first-name basis with each other, you know.” Baekhyun gives him a little push, and Tao laughs. “Seriously, though, yes, I know him. He was a few years above me in medacademy, we've known each other for years.” Tao squints. “Why?”

Hmm. How to not sound like an idiot, here? “I’m just curious about his, um, research,” Baekhyun says lamely.

Tao’s brows shoot up. “His… research?” He looks at Dr. Wu, then back at Baekhyun, and his smile broadens, revealing _far_ too many razor-sharp teeth. “I see! Well, you can’t go in there when he’s with a patient, you know.” He points at a sign above the door Baekhyun hadn’t noticed, a bright red _do not disturb_. “But I’ll tell you what. Come out to dinner with us tomorrow night. I’ll introduce you.”

It can’t _possibly_ be that easy. “Really?” Baekhyun says, and internally winces at how excited he sounds. He clears his throat, steadies his voice. “I mean, that would be great. Thank you. Where?”

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

When Tao tells Yifan _there’s someone you should meet_ , Yifan is immediately on his guard.

He has good reason to be. Tao - and Jongin, and literally everyone else in his circle of friends - have been trying to set Yifan up with someone for the past eight years. They don’t seem to be terribly picky about _who_ they set Yifan up with, either, resulting in some of the most awkward and socially painful experiences in Yifan’s already pretty awkward and socially painful life.

Tao’s not taking no for an answer, though, and in the end, it’s Tao telling him that this mystery guy is already expecting to meet him that forces Yifan to go. He’s not sure why it matters to him that Tao not look like an idiot, but it does. Must be friendship.

Yifan even dresses up a bit for the occasion, in a nice, sleeveless shirt and a wrap skirt, traditional Koharan in cut but modern in design. He does not, however, give in to Tao’s urging to unbraid his hair. He likes it to stay out of his face, thanks.

The restaurant isn’t one of their usual establishments of choice. It’s an indoor place, slightly higher-class than Yifan’s friends usually haunt, decorated in a very traditionally human style. Yifan is _quite_ surprised when Tao asks for a floor table, instead of a high-backed booth or something at the bar like they usually go for.

Immediately, Yifan regrets dressing up. “I’m in a _skirt_ , Tao, why are we sitting on the floor,” he hisses.

“Reasons. Shut up, that skirt is long enough, you’ll be fine.”

Yifan’s not really worried about flashing the table, and Tao knows it. Yifan is worried about _upending_ the table. His legs are _far_ too long for floor seating.

He does his best, though, folding himself down onto the cushions as neatly as he can manage. He ends up sitting on his heels, the only position that seems to work. It makes the skirt stretch tightly over his thighs, but whatever.

Tao looks over Yifan’s shoulder with eyes lit up. Yifan’s heart skips oddly, nervously, and he turns to look, but it’s only Jongin, Tao’s omega boyfriend. Jongin greets Yifan with a brush of fingers and a small, sweet smile, and Yifan sighs, trying to force his heart rate back to normal.

It’s stupid to be nervous, anyway. He’s got no one to impress.

“Hey.”

Despite what Yifan was _just_ thinking, his heart leaps nervously anyway. Damnit. Brows furrowing, Yifan looks up.

And immediately back down again.

And he freezes in place.

Yifan was expecting a Koharan. Tao is always trying to set him up with Koharans. Okay, _once_ it was a human, a very lovely woman who was no more interested in Yifan than Yifan was in her, but that was just once, and she was nothing like _this_.

This human is male. Small, even for a human. Pale-skinned and black-haired and _pretty_.

And staring right at Yifan, just as frozen, eyes wide like a prey animal who can’t decide if it’s better to bolt or play dead.

Tao kicks Yifan’s knee under the table. Yifan clears his throat and breaks eye contact, turning back to the table. A lot of humans are wary of Koharans, especially Koharan alphas, so Yifan is relatively well-accustomed to making himself seem smaller, kinder, less threatening, but when he’s not thinking about it, sometimes he forgets.

He forces himself to pay attention to it now, hunching his broad shoulders a little and dropping his eyes.

Tao is greeting the man, gesturing to the open seat, talking animatedly as he introduces Yifan and Jongin. The man, whose name is apparently Baekhyun, exchanges a greeting gesture with Tao, three out of five fingers brushing. They’re comfortable with each other, then, familiar. Why has Tao never mentioned him, if they’re three-fingers familiar?

Baekhyun greets Jongin much more reservedly, a human nod of his head coupled with a single-finger greeting. He’s not met Jongin before. That makes Yifan feel a little better.

Then, Baekhyun sits in the last open space, which is, of course, right next to Yifan. On the floor like this, they are so very close, and it is very obvious how much smaller Baekhyun is. He looks up at Yifan curiously, close enough now that Yifan can clearly see him, and Yifan sees that his initial impression of ‘pretty’ does _not_ do the man justice.

“Hi,” Baekhyun says, holding up a hand.

It’s sweet of him to initiate the greeting. Yifan carefully brushes the pad of his finger up the side of Baekhyun’s, trying not to admire the grace of his hands too openly. Like most Koharans, he’s a _sucker_ for nice hands. “Hi,” he says in return, unable to get out more volume than a soft rumble. “Call me Yifan.”

Baekhyun cocks his head. “Not Doctor Wu?” he asks.

The question catches Yifan off-guard. He glances at Tao, but Tao’s cagey smirk is no help. “Um. Did Tao… tell you about me, then?”

A pretty, square smile widens, becoming squarer and prettier. His flat, blunt human teeth seem too white, blinding. “I asked him about you, actually,” Baekhyun says, and, wait, _what_. “I was curious about your research.”

“My research? At the lab?” Yifan can’t help it, he turns his body a little, facing more towards Baekhyun. And then, suddenly, it clicks, how Baekhyun and Tao must know each other. “Oh, do you work for the hospital?”

“Yep!” Baekhyun’s dark eyes narrow when he smiles, curving into crescents. “I’m a nurse in the Emergency Center. And no, not that research.” His smile goes a little sheepish. “I was reading about your doctoral thesis.”

Yifan looks over at Tao, watching them with nosy anticipation. “You put him up to this,” he accuses flatly, in Koharan so Baekhyun can’t understand.

Tao immediately bursts out laughing. “On the souls of the ancestors, I swear I didn’t,” he asserts.

“But he did point me to where I could find a copy of your thesis,” Baekhyun says - _in Koharan_. Heavily accented Koharan, but Koharan nonetheless. Yifan’s eyes widen, his fingers curling into embarrassed fists in his lap. Right. Baekhyun is a nurse, he literally just said so. He’d be professionally obligated to speak at least basic conversational Koharan - and every other official language of the city - for his job. Yifan is an _idiot_. “I read it last night. Do you, um, mind answering a question or few?”

“A few questions,” Yifan automatically corrects, and then winces. Wow, he is on a _roll_ tonight. Switching back to Common, he says, “Sorry. Sure, I don’t mind.”

Baekhyun’s smile is held back by his teeth digging into his lower lip. Yifan’s eyes drop to his mouth, because he’s always found that human mannerism fascinating. Koharans don’t bite their lips, their teeth are too sharp. But Baekhyun’s lip doesn’t pierce and bleed, it just deforms around his teeth, as if to purposely highlight its softness and shape.

“In your thesis,” Baekhyun says, “you mentioned a classification of plants that don’t put roots down in soil? I’ve never heard of such a thing. How do they survive?”

Yifan drags his eyes back up to Baekhyun’s face. He’s asking the question in all seriousness, it seems, so Yifan takes a breath and answers.

Botany is, to most people, a subject so obscure as to be esoteric. Yifan thinks it’s fascinating, but he’s always found himself to be the only one of that opinion. He’s used to shortening his answers for the sake of others, censoring his enthusiasm for the subject, curbing himself. But Baekhyun seems genuinely _interested_. The questions he asks are intelligent and pointed, very specific, and for a couple of them Yifan really has to _dig_ through his memory of the subject to find the answer.

It doesn’t help that Baekhyun is absolutely _gorgeous_ , and Yifan finds himself trailing off more than once, distracted by the shape of Baekhyun’s mouth as he repeats new scientific terms aloud, or the delicate pink flush of his cheeks against the heat inside the restaurant, or the way his graceful hands gesture, or his eyes. A lot of Koharans think human eyes are unsettlingly flat and dark, lifeless, but there’s nothing lifeless about Baekhyun’s big, heavily lined, deep brown eyes. Yifan is pretty sure he could just fall into Baekhyun’s eyes and drown, if he let himself.

They talk all through dinner. Well, Yifan talks, and Baekhyun listens, his dark eyes making it too easy for Yifan to ramble on and on, to forget that most people do not give even the tiniest shit about lignified tissues in vascular structures, probably embarrassing himself. Eventually, a musical act begins on the restaurant’s tiny stage, and Tao and Jongin turn their backs to the table to watch. It makes it feel as though they are alone, even in the crowded restaurant, and Yifan just can’t stop talking.

“I’m sorry,” he says finally, when a waiter interrupts him to set down their complimentary sweetbreads. “I’ve completely monopolized your evening. I promise you, I’m not usually like this.” He drops his eyes, embarrassed.

“No, no!” Baekhyun says, and his tone is so peppy, Yifan has to look back up. He’s _so_ cute. “You’ve been very helpful! Thank you for answering all of my dumb questions.” He smiles, and Yifan can’t help but to smile back, carefully keeping his mouth closed so his teeth don’t show.

“I don’t mind answering questions,” Yifan says, shifting his legs out from under him. He’s been kneeling so long, he winces as he uncurls, stretching them out before folding them to the side, one hand smoothing the skirt back into place. “It’s not a subject I get to talk about often. Can I ask why you are so interested?”

A blink. Human eyelashes are so full and dark. “Oh, I, ah…” Baekhyun laughs. “I kind of have a little project? Nothing I found online was much help, so I started looking for someone who might be able to answer my questions. That’s why I was asking about you.”

Ah. Right. That explains why he’s sensed absolutely no attraction from the smaller man. Yifan smiles again, forcing his lips to curl. “Well, I hope I was helpful.”

“You were! You are, I mean. Very helpful.” Baekhyun picks up his sweetbread, gently pulling it apart with long, delicate fingers, and Yifan mourns for an opportunity he never really had. “Do you think… could I maybe get your console address? If you don’t mind. I have a feeling I’m going to think of more questions.”

Yifan gives it to him, and then asks how he knows Tao, and listens to Baekhyun’s answer as he nibbles his own sweetbread. They’re a human invention - Koharans are strictly carnivorous by nature - but Yifan’s always had a bit of a soft spot for them.

The performance ends, and Tao and Jongin turn back to the table. Yifan can see what Tao is thinking in his eyes, but he’s wrong. Unfortunately.

“Alright, what now?” Tao asks the table. “There’s a games shop down the street, or the playhouse if you want to go see something, or - ”

“I, um, I actually have to get going,” Baekhyun says. Yifan isn’t surprised, though it looks like Tao is. “Thank you for inviting me out tonight.”

Tao’s about to protest, Yifan can see it. He doesn’t let him. “Thank you for joining us,” Yifan says, cutting Tao off. He holds up his hand, inviting a greeting gesture.

Baekhyun hesitates for a moment, then takes Yifan up on his invitation, trailing the tips of two fingers up the sides of two of Yifan’s own. Yifan covers his shudder with the most polite smile he can muster, inwardly delighted with the addition of the second finger. They are more than strangers, now.

As Baekhyun turns to say goodbye to Tao and Jongin, Yifan drops his hand under the table, clenching it into a fist to stop the tingling in his sensitive fingers. Baekhyun is too good at that.

Then, Baekhyun takes his leave, heading up to the counter to pay his portion of the charges. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Tao leans over the table. “Well?!”

Yifan snorts. “You’re an idiot,” he accuses. Tao looks affronted, and Yifan flicks his fingers at him dismissively. “He’s not interested in me, he just had questions about my research.”

Frowning, Tao says, “But you were over there murmuring to each other all night!”

“About _plants_.” Yifan shrugs and goes back to finishing his sweet. “We talked about plants.”

“ _All night?!_ ”

“Pretty much. Sorry, Taozi. Guess you’ll just have to keep trying.”

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun’s head is spinning by the time he gets home.

It isn’t Yifan’s fault, really. Baekhyun did _ask_. But that was a _lot_ of information to try to absorb over a casual dinner; Baekhyun feels like he was in a lecture hall, like he should have been taking notes.

He would like nothing more than to strip off all his heavy, radiation-blocking clothing and fall face-first into bed, but he knows if he doesn’t write down what he’s learned right now, he’s going to lose it. So instead, he grabs his console and goes straight out to his balcony.

The plant has doubled in size. It comes up to his waist, now, and its vines move gently as if in a breeze, curling and uncurling. Baekhyun had no idea plants were so _lively_. The ones he saw in the museums seemed very static, though of course he was told by historians that they did move and grow. He just never imagined they would move this much, or grow this fast.

He can’t help but to be attached to the thing. It acts so alive, and it smells nice, perfuming his balcony with something light and sweet. It’s even getting prettier as it gets bigger, with thick green leaves tinged purple around the edges, and little, curly, pale tendrils sprouting from some of the vines. Still no flowers, but who knows?

Baekhyun pulls his lounging chair over close to the plant and settles in, typing up as much information as he can remember before he forgets it. “Did you know,” he says aloud to the plant, “that you are a lithophyte? Also a succulent.” He reaches out to stroke a finger over one of the highest vines, smiling as the plant twitches, the vine uncurling in response to his touch. “Yifan knows so much. He would probably love to meet you, but…”

But that would require inviting a strange Koharan into his home.

Yifan was very nice tonight. He kept his distance, which is an unusual consideration for a Koharan to make for a human. He hadn’t reached out to touch Baekhyun once, hadn’t leaned into his space, hadn’t ever once made Baekhyun feel small or cornered, despite Baekhyun clearly being able to tell that the man was _enormous_. Even sitting on the floor like that, he’d towered over Baekhyun, and his hands completely dwarfed Baekhyun’s.

Baekhyun kind of wishes he’d been able to see Yifan’s eyes. He’d been wearing lenses, green-tinged reading lenses perched on his nose, meant to cut down on the ever-present red glare of the Koharan atmosphere. And he hadn’t looked Baekhyun in the eye very often as they spoke, which was unusual. Was he a shy omega type? 

Koharans have three major sexes, which roughly correspond to the human ideas of male, female, and intersex. They’re evenly distributed through the population, with as many ‘intersex’ individuals as ‘male’ or ‘female’. Not that that’s what _they_ call their sexes. Koharans have their own names for them, traditional names in their traditional language which Baekhyun doesn’t even _attempt_ to pronounce. Human explorers who made first contact with Koharans hundreds of years previous dubbed the three Koharan sexes _alpha, theta, omega_ , and since that time, both races have adopted the terms into Koharan Common, the planet’s official language.

Koharans don’t have many, if _any_ , outward markers of gender; they all look stereotypically male to a human perspective. Because of this, humans refer to all Koharans as _he_ , no matter which gender they are. That seems to be fine with the Koharans, who don’t have gendered pronouns in their traditional language anyway.

It’s rude to ask a Koharan their gender, but humans are at a disadvantage because while a Koharan can easily discern the gender of another Koharan by smell, a human has no way at all of knowing, unless the Koharan volunteers the information. In most cases, it doesn’t matter, but Baekhyun finds himself wondering about Yifan. He seems awfully large for an omega, but awfully soft-spoken for an alpha. Perhaps he is a theta, with sexual characteristics of both? But then again, there are enough Koharans that don’t fall into the generalized stereotypes that he could be anything.

There’s a touch to Baekhyun’s wrist, startling him out of his thoughts. He looks down, and finds, of all things, a thin vine curling around him.

“Excuse me,” he says, startled. With his other hand, he picks the vine off his wrist. It curls reflexively around his fingers, one little tendril reaching out to spiral around his thumb. When he flexes his hand, stretching his fingers out wide, the tendril is pulled off, and frantically reaches forward again, crawling across his hand until it can cling once more to his fingers.

He can’t help his smile. “So cute,” he coos, petting the vine. Since he has it here, he lifts his hand, examining the plant closely, looking at the way its leaves are structured, the way its vine grows.

A tiny, spiralling tendril reaches up, brushing his lips, as if reacting to his breath.

“You have personal space issues,” Baekhyun murmurs, untangling himself from the vine and settling it gently back in the pile of plant. “You’re as bad as a Koharan.”

Well… except for Yifan.

Baekhyun goes back to making notes and studying the plant. He has to fend off a few more leafy advances, but soon, the stars are out and vibrant in the deep purple sky, and the plant settles down, curling in on itself and stilling. Do plants sleep?

Maybe Baekhyun will ask Yifan, one of these days.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Yifan doesn’t really expect to hear from Baekhyun ever again, so he is surprised when, a few days later, he logs into his personal console address while on his lunch break and finds a message.

_bbaek: Hi Yifan, this is Baekhyun ^^ do you have a moment? I have another question._

Huh. The message is timestamped half an hour ago.

_Wyfan: sure, what is it?_

He half expects that he won’t get an answer, since Baekhyun is probably working as well, but the response is immediate. Was Baekhyun waiting for it?

_bbaek: What would be necessary for a plant to grow in Koharan radiation?_

What an odd question. Yifan has to stop and really think about it.

_Wyfan: Well, hypothetically, most plants are better adapted to radiation than most animals. Fossil record suggests that when the sun expanded millennia ago, most of the animal species went extinct long before the plants started to._

_Wyfan: But eventually, most of them they did die out._

_Wyfan: I suppose… The air is irradiated, the water is irradiated, the ground is irradiated. Since plants can’t build mechanical shields and purifiers like we can, hypothetically, if a plant were to survive in Koharan radiation, it would have to either be able to purify it through some kind of biological process, or simply consume it._

_bbaek: Consume it? A plant that could live on radiation?_

_Wyfan: It’s not unheard of. All plants consume radiation of some kind, it would just need to be adapted to the particular kind of radiation our expanded sun gives off. There are plants on other irradiated planets, you know. There’s even been talk in the xenobotany community about trying to transplant some to Kohara, but no one wants to sink that kind of money into an expedition unless there’s a proven benefit._

_bbaek: But the prehistoric plants here didn’t adapt? They just died?_

Yifan can’t help but smile at his curiosity.

_Wyfan: Unfortunately, yes. The sun’s expansion was too fast, the environment changed too quickly. Most went extinct before they could adapt, the big, leafy ones especially._

_Wyfan: Do you want to meet somewhere and talk? When do you get off work?_

It’s a long shot, since he’s pretty sure Baekhyun is only interested in asking questions for his mysterious project and not actually in seeing Yifan or spending time with him, but Yifan figures it can’t hurt to ask.

It takes a minute, but Baekhyun does respond.

_bbaek: I’m off now, actually. Had an overnight last night._

_Wyfan: Never mind, you’re probably tired then._

_bbaek: Do you want to meet at the culturehouse down the street after your shift?_

Oh. Yifan’s insides thunk a little.

_Wyfan: Sure, sounds good._

They agree on a time, and then Yifan has to return to work.

This afternoon is important. He’s been working on a new treatment with the help of the hospital’s chem lab, and this afternoon, he starts the clinical trial, on his bravest patient.

“Hi, Doc,” Jongdae says, as Yifan enters the room. He looks to be in comparatively better shape today, his eyes less glassy than they have been in the past, his voice peppier. Yifan smiles, his closed-mouthed, carefully crafted, non-threatening doctor smile, and begins his examination.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun sits at the caffeine bar at the culturehouse, watching the flavors swirl in his drinking bowl and frantically trying to figure out exactly what he’s going to say to Yifan.

The plant’s growth is rapidly increasing. In the eight days since Baekhyun was awoken by a mysterious crash, it has grown to fill his entire tiny balcony, to the point where vines are starting to reach through the hole in the glass, to the point where Baekhyun can no longer open his balcony door because _plant_ , and Baekhyun is becoming very, very concerned. What if the plant busts open more of the glass, or damages his walls? What if someone notices it? What if his balcony collapses? The vines feel very solid in Baekhyun’s hands, so the thing must be heavy.

And the way it moves is starting to freak Baekhyun out. It really acts like it has a mind of its own, but that’s impossible. Right?

Baekhyun has no idea what he should do. At what point does he tell someone? Who? Most of the museums are staffed by majority Koharans, and Baekhyun really doesn’t like the idea of a bunch of strange Koharans stomping into his safe haven and ripping the poor thing out. Worse, what if they decide they _can’t_ rip it out, and kick Baekhyun out of his own home, instead?

Baekhyun’s thought about contacting the only Koharan he trusts, his adopted brother Chanyeol. But he, like the rest of his family and all of his friends, are hours away in another district, busy with their own lives. He’s not going to bother them over a _plant_. They’d want to drop everything to come see him, and, well… there are _reasons_ he hasn’t had anyone come visit since he moved here several years ago.

“Hey.”

The deep voice, soft and rumbly and _way_ too close, startles Baekhyun so badly he nearly upends his bowl. A hand steadies him, huge and warm across his upper back, before just as quickly pulling away.

Baekhyun looks up. It’s just Yifan, of course, and he opens his mouth to apologize for being twitchy, but no sound comes out, because Yifan is not wearing lenses right now, and he’s so, so fucking tall, and his eyes are _purple_.

“Sorry,” Yifan says sheepishly. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” He moves to sit at Baekhyun’s side, adjusting the hydraulic barstool down so his long torso doesn’t tower awkwardly over the counter. Eye contact is broken, and Baekhyun’s voice returns to him.

He waves a hand in Yifan’s direction, dismissing his concern. “It’s fine,” he says. Raising his hand to invite a greeting, Baekhyun politely asks, “How was your shift?”

Yifan eyes his hand for a moment, and Baekhyun almost drops it, but then he reaches out. Two fingers fit between his own and gently stroke upwards, and Baekhyun is struck by how massive his hands are, even for a Koharan. “Long, but productive.” Yifan turns to wave down the server at the other end of the counter.

Baekhyun watches him for a moment as he orders. His silver hair is braided back again, rolled up and pinned in an intricate formation at the back of his head. Of course, if he just came from being on duty, he would be required to pin it up. Baekhyun idly wonders what it looks like loose around his shoulders, how long it is when it’s down. Long hair is traditional for Koharans, but these days it’s relatively rare to see one with hair below the shoulders.

Accepting his drink from the server, Yifan turns towards Baekhyun and settles in. He can cup the bowl easily in one hand, long fingers splayed around the sides to steady it as he sips. Purple eyes flash up to meet Baekhyun’s, but then drop again. “What can I help you with?” he politely asks.

And Baekhyun’s mind goes completely blank.

He had his story all planned out. He had a list of questions in his mind. But now, with Yifan sitting next to him and waiting expectantly, he freezes.

Yifan’s eyes are on his bowl. “I make you nervous,” he says softly. It’s an observation, not a question. “I apologize.”

Baekhyun blinks at him. “No, it’s - it’s not you. I just had a long night.”

“It’s alright, I’m an alpha. I’m used to it.” Yifan shrugs.

“It’s not because you’re an alpha. I didn’t even know you’re an alpha.” Although it says something about Yifan that he thought so, about how he sees himself or how others treat him or maybe both. “I’m just...” Trying to figure out whether or not to tell a near stranger about the plant that shouldn’t exist in his balcony. Right. “I’m. Um. Writing a novel.” It’s the excuse that he decided on earlier, the only thing he could think of to explain his questions. “It’s not something I’ve told very many people about, just yet.”

“Oh!” Yifan turns to him more fully, with curiosity in his slit-pupiled eyes. “Is that why you need to know about plants?”

Baekhyun tries not to sigh in relief. “Yeah, that’s why. I hope that’s okay?”

“Yes, of course! What do you want to know?”

So Baekhyun asks, and sips from his bowl as Yifan answers. They talk for a good long while, and Yifan does loosen up a bit, letting himself ramble, letting his volume raise above a husky murmur. Baekhyun can clearly see, now, that he was holding himself back the first time they met; he wonders vaguely if he still is, how much more to his personality might be stuffed under that polite doctor facade.

But it’s only a vague wonder, because he’s much more concerned with the fact that Yifan keeps telling him his plant can’t exist.

“Even the fastest-growing plants would have taken weeks or months to grow to the size you’re talking about,” Yifan says, with firm conviction. “Not _days_. Can you alter your timeline a little in the story? It’s just not realistic.”

That’s unsettling enough, but when Baekhyun describes the plant’s movement and Yifan actually _bursts out laughing_ , his insides drop into his toes, leaving him feeling weirdly hollow. Yifan sees his expression and immediately sobers, his shoulders hunching. “Sorry! I’m sorry. It’s just. Plants _can’t_ move, not in the way you’re describing. A vine can’t reach out like that, it wouldn’t be able to support itself.” His expression is apologetic; he clearly thinks he’s offended Baekhyun. “You’re talking about a plant as if it was an animal. It’s an easy mistake to make, especially if you’ve never really spent time with plants.”

“What about if it was an alien plant?” Baekhyun says desperately. “Not Koharan, I mean. What if it came from somewhere else?”

Yifan shrugs. “I don’t see how it would make a difference, but who knows, right? Maybe an alien plant could have different kinds of structures than the plants we know of so far. I only really studied ancient Koharan and Earth plants, so that would be outside my purview.” He purses his lips thoughtfully. “If you want to make it an alien plant, though, you can make it do basically whatever you want. There’s still so much we don’t know about the universe. Anything is possible, really.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth to respond to that, but at that moment, Yifan jumps a little, and reaches into his tunic to pull out his comm device. “Sorry,” he says, “it’s the hospital, I have to take it.” Baekhyun nods, and Yifan opens the device and answers.

His golden-tanned face goes sickly pale. Alarmed, Baekhyun reaches for him, his hand resting on Yifan’s knee before he remembers Yifan has never invited or initiated a touch, beyond the greeting gesture. But Yifan’s hand immediately covers his own, taking the comfort.

“I understand,” he says. “I’ll go right now. Thanks.” He closes the device and gives Baekhyun a look, apology disguising his alarm. “I’m really sorry, I have to leave.”

“Is everything okay?” Baekhyun asks.

A flash of a smile, tight and unhumorous, the least congenial Baekhyun has seen Yifan be. “No,” he says bluntly. “My research patient just disappeared.” He runs his comm device over the scanner in front of them, selecting to pay for Baekhyun’s drink as well, before Baekhyun can even protest. “The nurse said he was acting erratic before he slipped out. I started him on a new experimental treatment this afternoon; if there are unforeseen side effects…” He trails off, but Baekhyun can fill in the blanks.

“I’ll go with you,” Baekhyun says, sliding off the chair and pulling on his protection cloak and goggles. “Is this the patient Tao told me about? Kim Jongdae?”

He looks up. It’s the first time he and Yifan have both been standing at the same time, and _wow_ is Yifan tall. He absolutely _towers_ over Baekhyun.

“Yes, that’s him. You shouldn’t - you don’t have to come, stay here and finish your drink.” Yifan looks worried.

Baekhyun's already moving. "Don't be ridiculous. Come on, did they say which way he went?"

Yifan stares for a moment, then shakes himself off. "Yeah. This way."

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

It shouldn't be so difficult to focus on finding a missing - and possibly mentally compromised - patient, but Baekhyun jogging along at Yifan's side is far more distracting than it should be. Yifan's torn between wanting to break into a run, and knowing Baekhyun would not be able to keep up; torn between keeping a lookout for Jongdae and keeping his eye on Baekhyun.

He knows, as well as anyone, that the streets are not a safe place to be in the evening. The sun's not completely down yet, streaks of burning red light cutting at a low angle between the buildings, but even so, the nightlifers are already coming out, filling Yifan's sensitive nose with the hormones and pheromones of a hundred different people, a hundred different emotions.

"The cameras caught him leaving out the west exit," Yifan murmurs, just loud enough that Baekhyun can hear. "Assuming he doesn't turn around, he should be headed this direction."

"Should we split up?" Baekhyun asks. "I saw him once, I know what he looks like."

"No," Yifan says immediately, even though it's a sensible suggestion. "Jongdae wouldn't have left the hospital unless there was something wrong with his mental state. There's no way to know how he would react to a stranger approaching him. We should stick together." It's not the real reason - the real reason is that Baekhyun is nearly as vulnerable as Jongdae out here - but it's true, anyway.

Baekhyun huffs. "We should at least spread out," he says. "I'll cross the street. That way we can easily see down the side roads as we pass. Just yell if you see him." And before Yifan can argue with him, he's gone, peeling away from Yifan's side and dodging between transport vehicles to the other side of the road.

Yifan swears, under his breath, in Koharan, but he doesn't move to stop Baekhyun. He doesn't have the right to feel this protective, and he knows it. Instead, he forces himself to concentrate on the search, sweeping his vision through the crowd, breathing deep in the hopes of picking up Jongdae's distinctive scent.

They go for quite a ways, and are more than halfway back to the hospital when Yifan hears his name. Baekhyun's waving him down from across the street. The moment he knows he's got Yifan's attention, he ducks down a side street, and Yifan hurries to follow.

It takes a moment, because of _course_ a transport caravan chooses that moment to rumble by, but as soon as it's gone Yifan is sprinting. He can hear raised voices, he can smell fear and anger and confusion, but it isn't until he's fully into the side alley that he can see what Baekhyun was able to spot from the street.

There's three people, surrounding a fourth. Two Koharans, alpha and theta, and a human woman. As Yifan gets closer, he recognizes Jongdae's scent long before he can clearly see Jongdae's face, but it's muddled. Something is wrong.

Baekhyun has clearly figured that out, because he's already put himself right in the middle, right next to Jongdae. "You guys wanna maybe leave the sick man alone?" he's saying, getting right up in the alpha's face.

Yifan senses the alpha's reaction before it happens, but he's still too far away to do anything to stop it when the alpha grabs Baekhyun by the collar and hauls him forward. "What's it to you?" the man snarls, his wounded pride leaking rage all over the alley. He doesn't like a tiny human challenging him. His pheromones are hyping the theta up, the slightly smaller man circling them like a bird of prey.

Raising his chin, squaring his shoulders, and taking a deep breath, Yifan forces to the surface every primitive Koharan instinct he's spent the last several decades learning to suppress. The moment his own pheromones hit the air, both the alpha and the theta look up in surprise; it gives Yifan enough time to close the rest of the distance on long strides and reach out, ripping Baekhyun out of the alpha's grasp and putting himself between the harassers and the two humans under his protection. Knowing full well he only has one chance to make an impression, Yifan plants both hands in the other alpha's chest and shoves him with all his strength, knocking him into the theta. They both hit the ground.

"Beat it," he snarls, stepping forward so he towers over them, purposely making his voice deep and furious.

The harassers hesitate. The alpha wants to get up and fight back, Yifan can smell it, and the other two are looking to the alpha for what comes next. Needing to cut that instinct off before it can go anywhere, Yifan lunges for the human woman, literally snarling and snapping his teeth.

That does the job. She squeaks in fear and takes off, and after a moment of indecision, her Koharans get up and follow. The alpha has some choice words for Yifan, snapping obscenities in Koharan as he passes, but they leave, and that's all Yifan cares about.

He immediately deflates, settling back into his skin, like a spitting lizard lowering its frill. There's an apology, an explanation on his lips as he turns, but Baekhyun isn't even looking at him. He's on the ground on his knees, reaching out with both hands to Jongdae, who has scrambled back into a corner, cowering.

Shit.

"Jongdae," Yifan says, his voice once again soft and soothing and doctor-like. "Hey. Jongdae. Can you hear me?"

"He's really freaked out," Baekhyun says quietly. "Is this normal for him?"

"Not in the least." Yifan gets down on the ground as well, onto Jongdae's level, hunching over so he can look Jongdae in the eyes. They're glassy, unevenly dilated. Something is definitely wrong.

Jongdae is murmuring something, and even with his heightened hearing, Yifan has to lean close to understand. "He's saying _I don't have anything, I don't have anything_ ," he says, confused.

He might not know what that means, but apparently Baekhyun does. "Those assholes were probably trying to rob him," he guesses. "Lucky him, he wasn't carrying anything. Betcha that's why they were so pissy." Baekhyun glances at Yifan. "Whatever he's got, it's not contagious, is it? Can we touch him?"

Oh. "Yeah, it's radiation poisoning. Not contagious. I don't know how he'll react to being touched though. And we have to be careful of his arms." Jongdae's arms are bandaged from fingers to biceps, and have been since Yifan meet him.

Baekhyun frowns. "Radiation poisoning? Shit, he can't be out here at _all_ , let alone while the sun is still up."

"Yes, I know, that's why he was living at the - Baekhyun. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Baekhyun is pulling off his sunscarf, his radiation-shielded cloak. "He's a lot more vulnerable out here than I am."

That _isn't logic_. "That doesn't mean you should put your own health at risk!"

Baekhyun fixes him with a look. "Who is more likely to die from exposure, me or him?" Yifan purses his lips flat, but doesn't answer, because they both know what his answer has to be. "Exactly. Shut up and help me get this on him."

It's an extraordinarily selfless thing to do for a complete stranger. Yifan has to forcibly shove his welling emotions back down. He'll deal with those later.

Jongdae protests, he struggles, but it's uncoordinated, undirected. He doesn't even look like he knows where he is, let alone who is touching him. They get the sunscarf on his head and the cloak around his shoulders, and as Baekhyun works on getting the cloak done up in the front, Yifan checks Jongdae's vitals with a few gentle touches and a careful sniff. They're all abnormal - heartbeat, breath rate, temperature, pheromone levels.

"Fucking hell," Yifan mumbles. Baekhyun blinks at him, nonplussed. "Is this because of the new treatment? Why would..." He huffs. "We need to get him back to the hospital."

"Right." Baekhyun takes Jongdae's shoulders in his hands and looks him in the eyes. "Hi, Jongdae. I'm Baekhyun. I know this dirty alleyway is nice and cozy and all, but you need to get up and come with us, okay?"

Jongdae stares, clearly not understanding. Baekhyun keeps trying, but he's obviously not getting through, and the longer Jongdae is unresponsive, the more worried Yifan becomes.

"Here, move," Yifan finally says. Baekhyun moves, and Yifan leans forward and pulls Jongdae directly into his arms. It takes a moment to arrange him, but Jongdae was not a large man to begin with, and he's lost a lot of weight over the past few months he's been battling the illness. It's far too easy for Yifan to get to his feet with Jongdae cradled against his chest.

"Try to stay in my shadow," he suggests. Baekhyun nods, already crowding close to his side as they start back out to the street.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun is a _mess_ at work the next day. Between worrying about Jongdae and freaking out over the fact that his plant is not supposed to exist, he barely slept a wink; on top of that, he’s just gone from an overnight shift to a day shift, so he is _beyond_ exhausted. His co-workers keep giving him concerned looks, and even a patient comments that he looks rough.

Baekhyun is seriously considering begging Tao to take his shift so he can go home, when he’s paged to go to the check-in desk. Running a hand through his hair, Baekhyun tries to blink himself into at least looking more awake as he makes his way through the center.

He spots Yifan’s braid first, before anything else. It’s softer, looser today, falling over one shoulder instead of straight down his back. He’s wearing more casual clothes today, too, a simple tunic and slim-cut pants, with a radiation cloak flipped back over his shoulder to bare his right arm. He must have just come in off the street.

“Hey,” he says, reaching out for a greeting as soon as he sees Baekhyun. Baekhyun slides three fingers up Yifan’s, distracted by the soft strands of silver that fall across his cheekbones. He’s not used to seeing Yifan’s hair anything less than tightly pulled back. “Do you have a minute?”

“Yes he does,” Tao says immediately from behind the desk. “We’re slow, I’ll cover for him.”

“Great.” Yifan reaches out and guides Baekhyun to his side with a barely-there touch, letting his hand drop once Baekhyun takes the hint and falls into step beside him. When they’re out of earshot of the desk, he says, “It’s my day off, technically, but I wanted to check on you and Jongdae. How are you feeling?”

Baekhyun blinks up at him. “I’m fine.”

His lip quirking, Yifan says, “Really? Pardon me for saying so, but you look like shit.”

Before he thinks the better of it, Baekhyun shoves Yifan’s shoulder, just the way he would Tao’s. Yifan is _very_ solid. “Rude,” he grumbles. “I didn’t sleep well.”

“Ah.” Yifan looks him over. “I’d like to do a blood test on you, is that alright? I know you were only outside unprotected for a few minutes last night, but I want to check your radiation levels anyway. And Jongdae wants to thank you.”

That gets Baekhyun’s attention. “He’s coherent again?”

“Yeah. It took a few hours for the new medication to work its way out of his system, but he’s back now. I still don’t know why he reacted that way, but I’ll figure it out.”

He leads Baekhyun to an empty examination room and gestures to the bench. It’s one of the ones meant for a Koharan doctor, so the bench is raised high; Baekhyun steps onto the tread and hauls himself up onto the bench. He rolls up one sleeve and holds his arm out, palm-up.

Yifan closes the cuff around his elbow. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you last night,” he says, his eyes on the readouts as the cuff takes Baekhyun’s vital signs. “You didn’t have to come with me, you didn’t have to help me, you didn’t have to get in between a stranger and his harassers, and you didn’t have to give up your protection to help a sick man. But you did.” His gaze slides over to Baekhyun’s, slit-pupils wider than usual, darkening his pale purple eyes. “That was incredibly brave of you.”

Heat rises in Baekhyun’s cheeks. “Or stupid,” he says.

“I’m leaning towards brave.” Yifan puts his free hand gently on Baekhyun’s shoulder, which Baekhyun knows is a universal doctor signal for _don’t be startled_. The next moment, a sharp pain pricks the inside of his elbow as the cuff takes a blood sample. “Just like it was brave of you to move to the district with the highest crime rate on the continent, just to work in an EC.”

Baekhyun stares. “You looked up my record,” he accuses.

“Well, you looked up mine, didn’t you?” Yifan undoes the cuff. “Your vitals are fine, but I’m still going to analyze this sample. Just to be sure. I’d hate for you to contract radiation poisoning because of my wayward patient.” He puts the cuff back in the rack, takes the blood sample out of it, and looks back at Baekhyun. “Seriously. Thank you.”

Nodding, Baekhyun drops his gaze and gets down off the bench. He doesn’t really know what to say.

They’re silent as they walk down the hall towards the labs. It’s a little bit awkward, and Baekhyun is on the verge of breaking the silence to say _please come over to my place tonight, I have something you should see_. He’s not certain he can take another night of lying awake and watching the shadow of restlessly shifting vines in his shaded windows, another night of not knowing what the plant is or what it might do to his house or how he can deal with it.

But the words don’t come out. Baekhyun feels much more comfortable with Yifan now, but he hasn’t forgotten the sudden display of aggression and power the doctor put on the night before to scare Jongdae’s harassers away. He hasn’t forgotten the difference in their size and strength, or Yifan’s quiet admission, _I’m used to it, I’m an alpha_. Koharan culture puts a lot of importance on an invitation into someone’s private space, and Baekhyun cannot think of a way to word the invitation that won’t seem like a come-on.

And Baekhyun has seen Koharans - particularly alphas - become entirely different people when they think they have an invitation. Inviting Yifan over to his house, leading him into his bedroom, _especially_ after dark, might give him the wrong idea.

Not that Yifan isn’t attractive. Baekhyun lifts his eyes to the side, tracing over Yifan’s soft silver braid again. He’s a little curious, of course. It’s only natural. But he has bigger concerns right now.

Jongdae is sitting up in his bed when they open the door. He definitely looks more awake, more coherent; his gaze focuses directly on Baekhyun and he immediately smiles, a huge, eye-crinkling, genuinely happy smile. Baekhyun already likes him.

“You must be my hero,” Jongdae says, and there’s a teasing note in his tone that instantly puts Baekhyun at ease. He doesn’t spend nearly enough time with other humans anymore.

“That’s me,” Baekhyun says cheerfully. Jongdae reaches out, his hand held parallel to the ground instead of upright, and Baekhyun changes his own response, going for a human handshake-fistbump instead of a Koharan greeting gesture. Out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun can see Yifan retreating to the side of the room, playing with the room’s console and pretending he’s not watching them. “You feeling any better?”

“Better than last night. I don’t know what Doc hit me with but it was like getting run over by a transport.” His dancing eyes soften. “He told me what you did. Thank you.”

Baekhyun waves him off, and perches one hip on the foot of his bed. “So now what? Change the medication, try it again?”

Jongdae launches into an explanation of the work he’s helping Yifan with, and Baekhyun settles in to listen.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun lucid-dreams a lot. It comes from a lifetime of sleeping lightly, of not allowing himself to ever fall completely unconscious. He kind of knows, vaguely, that he’s dreaming, but he doesn’t have any control of what’s going on in his mind.

It’s one of those nights. Baekhyun feels phantom, ghostly touches across his skin, sees movement in the dark. His mind conjures up eyes, light-colored and slit-pupiled, and the soft brush of a long braid across his collarbone, against his neck. Arousal curls through him at the touch, gentle and creeping, making him writhe against his bedclothes, making him moan. A little part of him thinks that moan might have happened outside the dream, but there’s no real way to tell.

The soft touch brushes up his arms, right and then left, curious, exploratory. It curls around his wrists, strong but so gentle, holding him. Baekhyun’s hands flex and contract, his fingers curling in; soft pressure pushes them back out flat again, brushing between his fingers.

“Yi - ” It’s no more than a sigh. The face in his dream coalesces over him, expression gentle but pupils blown out wide and dark. Then it’s gone, faded away into the dark once more, leaving only the sensation left, of being touched, explored, cherished.

Something is sliding against his leg. Something is laying against his chest. Something is running through his hair, brushing against his parted lips, pressing inside his mouth. It tastes sweet.

Baekhyun tries to pull his legs up, to frame Yifan’s hips, but he can’t.

He can’t move.

Something in his mouth starts to slide down his throat, too long for a tongue, too wet for a finger, too flexible for a dick, and Baekhyun’s eyes fly open as he comes violently awake.

It isn’t Yifan above him. _It’s the plant_.

Baekhyun tries to scream, but it’s muffled by the vine down his throat. His limbs are all wrapped up, completely immobilized, and his senses are filled with cloying sweetness. The smooth, cool touch is everywhere, still so gentle, but terrifyingly strong.

Okay, Baekhyun. Don’t panic. _Think_.

His eyes are rapidly adjusting to the darkness, and Baekhyun can see now the shape of the plant above him. It has _more_ of a shape than before, a central stem and a main body of leaves and branches in the center from whence the vines come, and if the roots are still extant, Baekhyun can’t see them. It moves very much like an animal, not a plant.

The vine down his throat shifts the wrong way, brushing his gag reflex, and Baekhyun chokes hard, coughing. Immediately, the vine retreats, sliding out of his mouth, a long string of saliva trailing from Baekhyun’s lips until it breaks.

“Is this the thanks I get for taking care of you?” Baekhyun gasps, rather hysterically. Vines are sliding across the front of his throat, little tendrils curling up his chin and against his lips. It’s not choking, but the threat that it could _become_ choking at any second has Baekhyun all but hyperventilating with fear. He tugs a little harder on his wrists and ankles; the plant’s grip tightens in response. “I could have killed you when you were a seedling. Maybe I should have!”

Baekhyun’s not really sure why he’s talking to a plant. It’s not like the plant can _hear_ him. But then again, plants aren’t supposed to be able to _break into people’s houses and assault them_ so who knows?

He writhes, sudden and violent, putting all his strength into it. For one moment, it feels like he might get free, and then the plant abruptly constricts, vines tightening like ropes around his limbs and torso. Baekhyun gasps, arches, and freezes, terror kicking in his instinct to play dead.

That seems to work, when fighting did not. When he stills, the grip on his body loosens a little. Is it a direct reaction? If the plant is carnivorous, it would make sense - some kind of hunting reflex.

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and forces himself to relax completely, going limp. He even lets his head loll to the side, cradled by the vines that wrap around his head, and just breathes.

Slowly, the plant relaxes as well. The grip remains, but it loosens, going back to a gentle touch, almost a caress. Vines work their way under Baekhyun’s back, pushing; his heartbeat is pounding like a drum in his ears but he lets himself be lifted up off the bed.

There are no eyes, no face, but he can’t shake the feeling that it’s _looking_ at him.

One of his ankles drops, dangling. The vine that had been holding it slides up his leg instead, cool and smooth, tendrils tickling the inside of his thigh. It makes him shudder full-body.

The plant pauses, as if confused by this reaction, and Baekhyun throws himself into motion. He winds up and kicks out with his freed leg, landing a solid hit right in the main stem of the plant, propelling himself back and ripping out of the grasp of the vines. The plant recoils, Baekhyun hits the bed on his back and rolls, and in the next moment he’s on his feet and out the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [come talk to me](http://ask.fm/unnie_bee)


	3. Chapter 3

As a doctor, Yifan is well-used to being woken in the middle of the night by comm calls. It takes only two rings for Yifan to roll over and pick up his comm, flipping it open. “Yes?”

_“...Yifan?”_

It’s not the desk at the hospital. Yifan blinks out of grogginess, frowning. “Who is this?”

_“It’s -”_ A gasp. _“It’s me. Baekhyun.”_

A dozen different emotions swirl through Yifan’s body, settling into wary confusion. “Baekhyun? It’s -” he looks at the time readout - “really late.”

_“I know, I’m sorry, there’s -”_ Another gasp, and what sounds like a dry sob. _“There’s no one else I can call. Please.”_

The confusion quickly becomes alarm. Baekhyun sounds _terrified_. “What’s wrong?” Yifan asks, already scrambling out of bed, pulling on clothes. If something’s happened to Baekhyun…

There’s a laugh on the other end, but it’s an ugly, freaked-out kind of laugh. _“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,”_ Baekhyun says.

Possibilities chase each other through Yifan’s mind. Rape. Robbery. Was his home broken into? Was he hit by a transport? Yifan tries to remember if Baekhyun was on shift tonight. Did something happen at the hospital, or on his way home from the hospital?

“Where are you?” he asks urgently. “I’ll come get you.”

_“I’m in the stairwell of my building.”_ Baekhyun rattles off an address. _“I can’t go outside, I ran out without my cloak, but I can’t go back up there, I can’t go in alone, please, Yifan.”_

“I’m on my way right now.” Yifan obviously doesn’t have time to braid his hair back, so he quickly gathers it at the nape of his neck with a band-clip, getting it out of his way as he shoves his feet into boots. “Do you want me to stay on the call with you?”

_“Yes, God, thank you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I know it’s late.”_

“Don’t apologize.” Yifan pulls the comm away from his face long enough to enter Baekhyun’s address into it. “You’re not far from me, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Tell me what happened.”

_“I thought I was dreaming, even after I woke up and saw it I still wanted to believe it was a dream, but it wasn’t, it was real.”_ He’s babbling, clearly frightened. _“The bruises prove it was real.”_

Bruises? Yifan’s jaw tightens, but he forces his voice to sound calm as he gets in his personal transport and sets the comm in the dashmount. “Baekhyun,” he says softly. “You’re safe now, right? You’re away from the danger?” He starts his transport and pulls out of the bay, letting autopilot take him down to the street level.

_“The door locked behind me,”_ Baekhyun says, _“but I can’t go far. What if it gets out? I can’t just leave it to attack someone else.”_

It. What is ‘it’? “Did an animal get into your home?” Kohara is home to a number of dangerous predators, but they generally stay far from the urban areas. Still, it isn’t completely unheard of for one to wander into a city, and it would explain why a man who, just yesterday, got in the face of an alpha twice his size, is so incoherently frightened.

_“Not an animal,”_ Baekhyun murmurs. _“A plant.”_

Yifan blinks.

“What?”

_“I told you you wouldn’t believe me.”_

Ohhhkay then. “I’m going to need you to start from the beginning,” Yifan says, very calmly.

So Baekhyun does. Baekhyun tells him about the crash, and about finding, of all things, a _plant_ growing on his balcony. Baekhyun tells him about how fast it grows and the way it moves, and about getting concerned, and looking for someone to help him.

“Is that why you were asking Tao about me?” Yifan asks. “Why you read my thesis?”

_“Yeah, of course it is. I couldn’t just ask you straight out, you would think I was crazy._ I’m _starting to think I’m crazy. But the bruises are real, Yifan. Unless I’m hallucinating those too.”_

Yifan’s brain is sinking into crisis mode, his senses sharpening and time seeming to slow as his mind speeds. “Keep talking, Baek,” he murmurs, already working through everything he knows about the situation, everything he knows about plants. It’ll be easy enough to determine if Baekhyun is hallucinating once he gets to him; in the meantime he needs to be prepared for the possibility that Baekhyun is _not_ hallucinating.

Baekhyun’s volume drops as he begins describing what happened earlier that night. He’s stuttering over his words, obviously embarrassed, but Yifan keeps making encouraging noises because he needs to know what he’s about to walk into.

It’s hard to keep his voice calm, though, when Baekhyun starts to tell him about the plant, for lack of a better word, _assaulting_ him. Hard to keep his blood from boiling when Baekhyun softly and hesitantly describes waking with a vine down his throat, hard to keep from snarling protectively when Baekhyun talks about being lifted in the air. When Baek tells him how he got away, though, he can’t hold back his tone.

“Good for you,” he says fiercely. “That was smart. Are you hurt at all?”

_“Just the bruising on my wrists and ankles. And my, um, my throat is a little sore.”_

Yifan bites back another snarl. Baekhyun is freaked out enough, he doesn’t need to hear that. “Okay, well, I’m touching down now. Can I just come in the front door?”

Baekhyun gives him the door code, and Yifan promises he will be right there and hangs up the call. He takes a bare second to breathe, to get his protective instincts back under control, and then gets out of the transport and heads into the building.

Baekhyun is right where he said he would be, in the stairwell between floors, huddled in a corner looking absolutely tiny. Yifan reaches for him, and Baekhyun reaches back, and then the smaller man is in his arms, shuddering, tears wetting Yifan’s shoulder. Yifan bundles him close, crouching on the stair below him, and completely fails to control his alpha instincts. Baekhyun needs him, and literally nothing else matters.

He waits until Baekhyun’s shivers quiet a little before he gently picks up his hand. Sure enough, there are fresh bruises circling his wrist, quickly purpling against his pale skin.

“You’re not hallucinating,” Yifan assures him softly.

“Great,” Baekhyun says with a soggy laugh. “That means there really is a killer plant creature in my house.” His grip tightens. “Thank you for coming,” he says, very, very quietly.

Yifan nods, and stays silent. He doesn’t trust his voice, because his insides are _roaring_. He’s going to find the thing that did this to Baekhyun and rip it to shreds. He’s going to keep Baekhyun at his side and never let anything hurt him, ever again.

No. No, he isn’t. Yifan closes his eyes and _forces_ those feelings away, because he knows it’s not his good sense talking, it’s his hormones. Baekhyun called him because he is the only person Baekhyun knows who knows anything about plants. Not for any other reason. And he has to remember that.

Koharan alphas are genetically wired to want to _own_ , but Yifan is more than his instincts.

“It’s still in your flat?” Yifan asks. Baekhyun nods. “Do you want me to go in there?”

Baekhyun pulls away, but his hand slides into Yifan’s, all five fingers twining together. Yifan’s heart is pounding, completely inappropriately because he _knows_ that doesn’t mean the same thing to humans that it does to Koharans, and with Baekhyun this distressed it would be unreasonable to expect him to remember that. “I’m going with you,” he says, voice shaking but eyes determined. “It’s my house, it’s my plant. Uh. Sort of. Anyway, I need to see how it got in.”

Yifan frowns. “You don’t have to,” he says. “I can go in first.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you are,” Baekhyun says with a dry laugh. “But I’ll be right behind you.”

So they get up, and Baekhyun enters the code for his door, and as the door swings open, Yifan steps forward, putting himself in front.

The first thing Yifan notices is the smell, heavy and floral and sweet, as strong as a scent-masking spray but without the chemical notes. It isn’t a bad smell, but it’s _thick_ , permeating the entire room.

“Gods, how can you live in a smell like this?” he asks softly, as Baekhyun closes the door behind them and turns on the lights at the control panel.

Baekhyun glances at him. “I thought the plant smelled nice,” he says. “I guess not having a Koharan nose is sometimes a blessing.”

That makes Yifan snort. “Yeah, more often than you might think,” he mumbles, taking in the space. It’s a very, very tiny apartment, but the materials look expensive. The front room has a small food prep space off to the side, so there’s only one way to go, back towards the bedroom. Yifan swallows and reminds himself that this is necessary. “May I…?” He gestures at the door.

“That’s where it was earlier, so…” Baekhyun bites his lip. “You’re not going to be weird about it, are you?”

“Weirder than a killer plant attacking you in your sleep?”

“Right. Point. Yes, you have permission to enter my room.” He’s looking around. “I don’t know if I have anything that could be used as a weapon?”

Yifan glances around quickly. “Go get a food prep knife,” he suggests. “In case it tries to wrap me up.”

“Good thought.” Baekhyun goes, and Yifan tries to stay as quiet as possible as he crosses the room and opens the bedroom door. Immediately, the scent of plant is overtaken by the scent of _Baekhyun_ , and Yifan crushes the inappropriate moan that threatens up his throat. Now is _not_ the time.

He does see movement in the dark, this time, but he can’t discern what it is until he fumbles for the control panel. The lights come on, and Yifan stops in the doorway.

There it is, just like Baekhyun said. A massive, viney plant, plopped right in the middle of his bed. But it doesn’t look like any plant form Yifan has ever seen, it looks like…

That can’t be right.

His curiosity overcomes his self-preservation, and Yifan steps forward, getting closer, close enough that he can see more than just a blurry, bright-green shape. The color is plantlike, the scent is plantlike, the vines that trail down to the floor are _certainly_ plantlike, but the shape of the main body of the plant is more like… like an animal, or a humanoid. It has _limbs_.

“Baekhyun,” Yifan calls, keeping his voice soft, not wanting to alarm Baekhyun or startle the plant. (Startle the _plant_. Weird.) “Come here.” He feels and hears Baekhyun come up behind him, and steps slightly to the side without looking backwards. “Is that what it looked like before?”

Baekhyun swears, virulently and in multiple languages. “No,” he says, which Yifan had gathered from the swearing, honestly. “It looked like a pile of vines. Not like…”

“A person,” Yifan finishes.

The plant starts to move, and Yifan immediately steps in front of Baekhyun again, spreading his stance to provide as much protection as possible. They both watch as the plant slithers and flows its way off the bed, its movement unlike any animal Yifan has ever seen, which makes sense, really. Yifan still isn’t close enough to see it clearly, and so to him the plant looks _unsettlingly_ like a human man trapped in a seething cage of vines.

As it touches down, it re-orients, lifting the man-shaped mass in the center upright. Slowly, clumsily, one ‘leg’ picks up, moves forward, sets down again. The other one does the same, trailing vines reaching out to brace against the floor and bed like training wheels on a child’s cycle.

“I can’t decide if that’s fascinating, or the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Baekhyun murmurs.

Yifan is currently leaning towards fascinating, but he’s too aware of what Baekhyun told him about the plant attacking him. He’s very cautious when he steps forward.

“Yifan…” Baekhyun says warningly.

“Keep that knife handy,” Yifan requests. He walks forward more, getting close enough that he can clearly see. The plant takes another halting, shambling step towards him, and a searching vine, more adventurous than the rest, comes in contact with Yifan’s boot. The plant freezes, and so does Yifan.

Yifan’s already cataloguing everything he can think of, making observations and filing them away in his mind to piece together later. “It clearly can’t see,” he says, “and I don’t _think_ it can hear, but it knows we’re here.” There are a few more vines reaching forward, tentative; Yifan cautiously reaches out to brush one with his fingers, ready to bolt if the thing makes any sudden movements. It twitches back, then reaches again, twining around his fingers. The slide of the cool, smooth vine over his sensitive fingers is strangely sensual, and Yifan quickly pulls his hand back.

“Do you think it can sense vibrations?” Baekhyun asks. “Like snakes on Earth, or those frilled lizards here?”

“It’s as good a guess as anything,” Yifan mumbles. “The stem seems woody, it’s hard to see it from here, but the vines are succulent, no bark.” He reaches out again, taking the tail end of a vine in his hand, and digs a nail in. The skin breaks easily, and the vine yanks back, curling in on itself. “Oh, shit. Baek, I think it can feel _pain_.”

Baekhyun hums. “That might be an advantage if it tries to attack again.” He’s moved to the side, Yifan can hear his footsteps, but he’s staying well back.

Keeping one eye on the plant, Yifan brings his hand up to his face. There’s a little bit of pinkish sap on his nail. It feels oddly slick, not sticky, and smells absolutely _delicious_. Without thinking, he licks it off his finger.

“Do you usually lick strange plants?” Baekhyun asks, sounding torn between horror and amusement.

“Um. Sometimes. I guess it was just an impulse.” The sap is sweet, floral. Tasty, actually. “If I wasn’t half-convinced the thing is sentient, I would say there would be a market for this sap as a sweetener. The next flavor craze at the culturehouse.”

Baekhyun laughs, a little hysterical. “I’ll keep that in mind. You think it’s sentient? Really?”

Yifan shrugs, taking another step closer. “It’s certainly reacting more like an animal than a plant. True sentience, well, unless we figure out how to communicate with it, we might never know.” He takes a deep breath. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is an alien life form, though. I think your initial instinct was right. It must have fallen from space.”

“Great.” Baekhyun has moved far enough to the side that Yifan can see him out of the corner of his eye. “How can we get it to stop assaulting me so I can live in my own home comfortably again?”

Yifan glances at him. “I appreciate that you’re not just calling for me to kill it,” he says quietly.

“I’m a nurse, Doctor Wu. And as fucking scary as the thing is, as _dangerous_ as it might be, I don’t really believe it _intentionally_ means any harm.” Baekhyun takes another step closer, and the plant shifts, obviously feeling the movement. “I’m sure it’s just trying to survive, like anything else.”

That Baekhyun thinks so, even with the bruises around his wrists, even after his home, his bed, his _person_ was invaded by this creature, raises Yifan’s esteem for him another notch.

“I think you’re right,” Yifan says. “And I think that means we need to protect it, as much as contain it.” He glances around. “The best place to contain it would be the balcony, right? It can still get sunlight there.”

“And we can keep an eye on it through the glass, yes. But it already got free from there once.” Baekhyun steps to the side, swinging out wide around Yifan and the plant to move towards the balcony on the other side of the room. “Keep it occupied, I’m gonna see if I can figure out how it got in.”

Occupied. Right. Yifan sees the plant turning, following Baekhyun’s movement, so Yifan stomps a foot heavily on the floor. That gets its attention, and puts it on guard, it seems, curling back into itself protectively.

“Can you hear my voice?” Yifan asks, raising his volume. “Or sense it, somehow? Do you sense vibrations in the air as well as the floor?” The plant is moving, shifting, but it’s impossible to tell if it’s in response to Yifan’s questions or just random. Yifan steps closer, glancing behind the plant to see Baekhyun crouching near the door to the balcony. He’s too far now for Yifan to clearly see what he is doing.

“It doesn’t look like the seal is broken,” Baekhyun says. “So how did it…?”

Yifan takes another step forward. He’s nearly within arm’s reach of the plant now. “Could it have just… opened the door?” he asks. “These vines seem pretty dextrous.”

Baekhyun stands. “It’s possible. Since I’m so high up and the balcony is enclosed, I usually don’t bother to lock this door. Even just randomly groping, it could have turned the handle.” He opens the door now, and Yifan can immediately feel the change as hot, dry, irradiated air blows in through the broken glass.

Apparently, the plant can feel it too, because it starts to move away from Yifan and towards the door. It doesn’t turn, probably because it doesn’t actually have a front or a back, which results in the man-shaped form in the center doing a weird sort of backwards shuffle that would be cute if it wasn’t so unsettling. Yifan follows, prepared to herd it through the door, to pick it up and _throw_ it through if necessary.

Backing away hurriedly, Baekhyun tries to hold the spring-loaded door open while getting as far from the plant’s reach as possible. There are vines everywhere, so Yifan comes up next to it and reaches out to guide the vines closest to Baekhyun away from him.

Cool smoothness twines around his arm, curious and searching. Yifan twists his arm free before the grip becomes too tight, careful not to pull too hard or break anything. “The clinging action is very similar to how climbing plants grow,” he observes, as he pushes the searching vines back towards the center stem. “Same kind of reflex, reaching out until it finds something and then curling around it. But it should take days for that kind of action to occur, and it should be done with new growth, not with existing growth moving independently. Fascinating.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Baekhyun mumbles.

Yifan laughs, and then stops, when the plant suddenly reaches for his torso. Vines curl around his waist, slide up his front to press against his chest and neck. “Whoa, hello there. That’s a bit too close, my leafy friend.” He carefully picks the vines off his waist with his hands, juggling them as they try to climb him.

The arm-like stems of the main body of the plant reach towards him, and Yifan freezes, his heart thudding loudly with nerves, as the plant’s rudimentary ‘hand’ flattens against his chest. There are vines in the place of fingers, and they curl and twist against his shirt. The head-like mass in the center tilts up towards him, vines writhing around it like snakes.

Unthinkingly, Yifan reaches forward and brushes the vines away, getting a better look at the stem. It seems like the plant has curled its own vines around its woody center, approximating the shape of a human by building it with layers and layers of tightly wrapped foliage, but the stem is still visible in places, with a thin layer of protective bark, greenish-brown.

“You are a natural wonder,” Yifan says softly. The vines against his chest twitch, and Yifan realizes its can feel him speaking. He raises his voice, letting it reverberate in his chest. “Come on. Let’s get you settled.”

He steps forward, pushing. The plant flows back, its trailing vines along the ground groping for the opening of the door, feeling for obstacles like a blind man with a cane before the leg-like appendages follow. Gently, but firmly, Yifan herds the plant out onto the balcony.

It takes a second to extricate himself. The plant doesn’t seem to want to let him go, and Yifan wonders, rather suddenly, if it’s lonely. If it can’t see or hear, then its only connection to other living things is what it can feel.

“We’re not leaving you,” he says softly, a silly impulse that he voices anyway. “You’ll be safe out here. Relax.” He reaches into the swirling mass of vines and palms the central stem, sliding his hand up to cup the side of the head.

Miraculously, the plant quiets. Yifan pulls away before it changes its mind, taking advantage of his superior speed to get back on the other side of the door, close it, and lock it. He collapses back against it, letting out a long breath, and Baekhyun sinks to the floor with relief. Yifan can smell the adrenaline draining out of him, leaving him exhausted, and it takes all his will not to pull the man into his arms and hold him.

Instead, he asks, “Are you okay?”

“Ha.” Baekhyun’s head falls back against the wall. “Ask me again later.”

That’s worrisome. “Are you okay to stay here tonight? Do you have somewhere else you can go?” He realizes how overbearing that sounds, and tries to soften his tone. “You shouldn’t be alone here with that thing, you know... just in case.”

Dark eyes open and regard him for a moment. “I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Baekhyun admits, “unless I want to get a hotel room. And I don’t want to leave it here by itself, anyway. For all we know, it could crawl out the broken window and start breaking into other people’s homes.” Yifan frowns, but Baekhyun’s not done talking. “I know this is basically the hugest imposition ever, but… would you…”

Oh. Yifan swallows. “Do you want me to stay?”

Baekhyun’s eyes stay steady on his face. “You don’t _have_ to. I’ll. I’ll be fine.” His tone belies his words, and Yifan needs no more than that to make up his mind.

“I’ll stay. I can call off my shift tomorrow; my research is on hold for a while anyway, so that Jongdae can recover from his adverse reaction.” He gets back onto his feet, and reaches down to offer his hand to Baekhyun. “I want to observe the creature more, anyway.”

Long, dexterous fingers slide into his, holding tight. Yifan pulls Baekhyun up onto his feet, ignoring the shiver that threatens up his arm. He is a _mature adult_ and will _act_ as such, and _not_ like a child with a crush.

That flies right out the window when Baekhyun leans into his side, his temple resting against Yifan’s chest. He sighs, sounding and feeling and _smelling_ vulnerable and exhausted, and Yifan is so, _so_ fucked. He’s thankful, not for the first time, that Koharans have better control over their arousal reactions than humans do, because if he was human, his raging erection would give him away. As it stands, he clamps down hard on his body’s reactions to Baekhyun’s display of trust, only curling an arm around his shoulders to lead him to the bed.

“You should rest,” he says, fighting to keep his voice steady.

“What about you?” Baekhyun asks, but he’s already dropping down onto the bed, fatigue written across the slump of his shoulders. The time readout says _way, way too late for this shit._

Yifan waves him off. “I’ll be up for hours,” he says. “I got used to waking up instantly and staying awake back in medacademy. Go to sleep, Baekhyun, I can keep watch.” He sinks to the ground next to the bed, leaning his back against the wall. “I’ll wake you if the plant does anything unusual.”

Silence. Yifan looks up, and finds Baekhyun already laying on his side, staring at him.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun says. Yifan nods, and Baekhyun rolls over, putting his back to Yifan and to the shadow of the plant creature still moving around on the other side of the windows.

It takes a while for Baekhyun to drift off. Yifan pulls out his comm device and uses it to make notes on the creature while he listens to Baekhyun’s breath even out, his heartbeat slow, until eventually, the smaller man is asleep.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun sleeps uneasily, but he does sleep. He’s startled an indeterminate amount of time later by a noise, and comes awake immediately, his heart pounding.

The moment his sleepy eyes adjust to the pinkish early morning light filtering in through the shaded windows, Baekhyun freezes in place, afraid to move.

The plant has gotten back inside again.

It looks different now. It’s smaller, less viney, coalesced into a very human-looking shape, solid and functional, if green. It has discernable fingers, working joints, curves to its limbs that look very much like human musculature. And it’s crouching on the ground next to Baekhyun’s bed, apparently examining a very asleep Yifan.

A quick glance up at his bedside shelf shows that the prep knife he pulled out earlier is still within arm’s reach, should he need it; that helps calm his racing heart a little. Baekhyun stays perfectly still, and watches, and frantically tries to figure out what he should do now.

Yifan clearly fell asleep where he sat last night, his knees still pulled up in front of him, his comm device on the floor next to his lax hand, slow breaths pulling through parted lips. The plant seems to find him as fascinating as Yifan found the plant, its brand-new hands reaching forward, sketching in the air the shape of Yifan’s shoulders, neck, jawline, hair. It doesn’t touch him, as if it’s afraid to wake him.

That’s what makes Baekhyun’s foggy mind realize - it’s tracing out Yifan’s shape without touching him. Which means it can _see him_.

As Baekhyun watches, the last of the plant’s vines, around its head, settle down to fall in a cascade down its back. A single vine wraps around the others, pulling them back loosely at the nape of his neck, exactly mimicking Yifan’s hairstyle.

Baekhyun takes a deep, shuddering breath, terrified and fascinated, and the plant looks up. It has a very definite _face_ now, with a nose and a mouth and eyes that look very much like the grainy center of a flower, light brown against green, and there’s no way, there’s just _no way_ it isn’t sentient.

It sees him looking, and cocks its head, a slow and strangely flowing action. Baekhyun can see the myriad vines that make up its neck shifting and sliding to control the motion.

“Yifan,” he calls out, startling the Koharan awake. The plant pulls back, inhuman motion on humanoid limbs, and Yifan blinks and shakes off sleep and focuses on his surroundings.

“What - _shit_ ,” he breathes. He’s moving immediately, getting his feet under him and standing, looking far more awake than Baekhyun feels. Yifan is too big for Baekhyun’s cozy little home; he could probably reach up and put a hand flat on the ceiling without any trouble at all.

The plant rises as well, flowing upwards until it’s standing. It takes a tentative step forward, looking considerably better balanced than it did the night before.

Yifan puts himself between the plant and the bed. Baekhyun’s not certain if his protectiveness is intentional or not, but he appreciates it. He knows very well how strong the plant can be. Sitting up, Baekhyun leans over so he can see what’s going on.

“This is new,” Yifan murmurs. “It’s mimicking you, Baekhyun, it has to be. It’s exactly your size, it’s even your proportions, look.” He steps forward more, closing the distance between him and the plant.

Baekhyun wonders if _he_ looks as tiny as the plant does, standing in front of Yifan. “Maybe that’s what it was trying to do last night?” he conjectures. “Learn about me? Map out my body, so it can, what? Assimilate? Blend in?”

“Or adapt,” Yifan guesses. “It would make sense. If it’s really coming from an alien world, maybe one farther than either of our races has yet discovered, then it would have had no way of preparing for the conditions it might land in. Mimicking the adaptations of the native dominant species would be a good way to ensure survival.”

The plant-creature is looking between them as they talk. Baekhyun wonders if it’s figured out hearing, too, or just using its sense of vibrations combined with its new sight. There are ears on the sides of its head, but they appear to be rudimentary, aesthetic only. When the creature turns to look at Yifan, Baekhyun can see there aren’t any ear holes, only shells; delicately crafted from tiny vines and small, pale leaves.

“So if it landed on, say, Slaski, it would be taking an insect-like form right now?” Baekhyun asks. Most of the known sentient alien races in the universe look and act _nothing_ like humans or Koharans, which is the main reason the two races mutually agreed to join forces and set up colonies on each other’s planets. They learned about it in primary school - something about parallel evolution.

“Maybe.” Yifan holds out a hand, the same way he does when inviting a greeting gesture, palm forward and fingers spread apart. The plant looks at it, then mimics the gesture, holding its own hand up in front of itself. It looks at Baekhyun, then back to Yifan, and it - it _grows_.

Not much. But it definitely changes size, vines stretching and shifting, its whole body rippling as it rearranges itself. Now, it’s definitely taller than Baekhyun, though still not as tall as Yifan. Its hips and thighs are a little narrower than before, smaller than Baekhyun’s but not as lean as Yifan’s. Even its hands have changed, broader and less delicate, but nowhere near the size and power of the one Yifan holds out in front of himself.

“It’s combining us both,” Baekhyun realizes. “Observing us and determining the variation between us. I wonder if it ends up in the exact midway point, or if it’s consciously choosing what it wants to look like?”

“You’re right,” Yifan murmurs. “And it’s still closer to your size than mine, so I’d guess it has at least _some_ control over the process.” He reaches out and brushes his finger up the side of the plant’s, a very polite greeting for a new acquaintance. The plant, of course, immediately does it back to him. “It’s learning awfully fast.”

Baekhyun gets out of the bed, coming closer. “Another survival mechanism?” He holds out his hand the way Yifan did, and the plant looks at it for a moment, before trailing a finger up the side of his. Baekhyun frowns. “I think it feels warmer than before.”

“Really?” Yifan cups the side of the plant’s face, just like he did the night before, only this time his fingers slide carefully around that delicately created ear and into vine-hair. The plant leans into it, its flower-like eyes staring unmoving and unblinking. “Hmm, I think you’re right. Plant processes don’t usually generate this much heat.” He tilts the plant’s head up, examining it. The plant brings a hand up to rest on his waist, one vine untangling from its arm and twining around Yifan’s back.

While it’s occupied with Yifan, Baekhyun walks around behind it. It has an _ass_. That is weirder than anything else so far. “Yifan, look at this,” Baekhyun says. “Its original stem has become its spine.” He brushes his fingers up the center of the plant-creature’s back, where the interwoven, tightly packed vines that make up its ‘musculature’ attach to a curved, pliant, bark-covered line.

The plant curls in response to his touch, back pushing out and shoulders hunching, pretty clearly enjoying it. Baekhyun flattens his palm and drags it over the plant’s interwoven surface, caressing its shoulder, and smiles when the plant shudders a little and leans closer. Its eyes are still unmoving and unblinking, its face expressionless, but Baekhyun suspects it won’t take long for it to learn that, too.

Seemingly uncaring that there is a vine curled around his waist, Yifan leans around to inspect Baekhyun’s findings. “Look at that,” he says, sounding awed. “The stem is serving as a central nervous system, just as it would as a plant. Is that accident, or design? Did it do that simply because it was the easiest way, or did it somehow learn that from observing you?”

“It would have had to observe me awfully closely,” Baekhyun murmurs. “See here? Trapezius. Latissimus dorsi. Infraspinatus. Teres major.” As he names off the muscles of the back, he runs his hand over the tightly packed bundles of vines that mimic them. “It’s not just the general shape, it’s actual musculature, specifically _human_ musculature. You could teach an anatomy class off of this guy.”

“You’re right.” Yifan’s hands are running over the creature’s front, and from the way it’s writhing and squirming between them, Baekhyun is certain it would be purring if it knew how. “The front is the same.”

Curious, Baekhyun prods it a little, prying a couple of the vines apart, carefully watching for a negative reaction. Unlike when Yifan broke its delicate skin with his nail, the plant doesn’t seem to mind its insides being manipulated. “Holy - okay, yeah, this wasn’t just from simple observation. Come look at this.” Yifan moves to look, and Baekhyun points. “See? It’s got vines running from the sacrum up to the spine and ribs, exactly mimicking the erector spinae muscle group in humans. Those are deep-buried muscles, it couldn’t possibly have figured that out based on touch alone.” Carefully, he puts the vines he’d pushed aside back into place, watching as they tighten again, sinking back into a solid mass. “Yifan, what are we going to do with it?” He looks up, and finds Yifan watching him. “I can’t imagine telling anyone about this. A newly discovered alien lifeform? People would go _crazy_.”

A sigh. “I wish you weren’t right, but you probably are,” Yifan murmurs. Baekhyun nods. The first few interactions between Koharans and humans were tense enough, but something like this? So completely different, and completely _alone_ , with no military power or otherworld government to back it? A thousand bad things could happen. The government could confiscate it, lock it up for study; a private corporation or criminal organization could try to somehow make money off it; or zealots could straight-up try to kill it.

Baekhyun faces the plant creature, taking its shoulders in his hands. “We’re going to help you,” he says, with conviction. “I promise, we’ll protect you. But you have to behave, okay? Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”

The plant reaches forward and cups his face in its hand, exactly the way Yifan did to it, fingers splaying around Baekhyun’s ear and sliding into his hair. Baekhyun stares into its unblinking eyes and hopes against hope that somehow, it understands.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan does call off of work that day, in favor of staying with Baekhyun and helping with the plant. He checks in with Jongdae first, has the nurse on duty put his patient on the call, but Jongdae seems glad enough for the respite from being poked and prodded at, and says something about calling up his brother to hang out. With that taken care of, Yifan turns his attention to the table, where Baekhyun is using basic physical therapy techniques to teach the plant how to function in its new body.

The lack of a language is definitely an issue, but the creature is pinpoint observant and seems eager to learn. More importantly, they are growing attached to each other. Yifan can smell Baekhyun’s fear and caution fading away with each new motion the creature learns, can hear his heartbeat leap in excitement each time it touches him. The plant seems to have decided Yifan’s face-cupping gesture is its way of expressing emotion, though exactly _what_ emotion is up for debate. Is it happy? Thankful? Pleased? For all they know, the plant means the gesture as a threat, but since it keeps doing it to Baekhyun after every time it learns something new, they conjecture that it’s meant to express something positive.

For the most part, Yifan keeps his distance, observing them quietly. The creature has some traits from a number of different plant genuses, but not enough from any one to be solidly categorized, and some of its traits aren’t plantlike at all. Last night, Yifan had found a bit of vine on the floor near Baekhyun’s bed, probably broken off when Baekhyun was struggling with it, and spent a good hour examining it as best he could without a microscope. The interior structure of the vine isn’t like any plant structure Yifan has ever seen. It’s built more like an animal’s muscle, which would explain how the vines were able to support themselves, move quickly and independently, and be so flexible, but the cells still seemed to be made of plant matter, not animal flesh. Very, very curious.

Yifan hears - and smells - the plant creature approaching before he sees it. A smooth, warm hand cups his cheek, and Yifan looks up.

The creature smiles.

Yifan can’t help it, he smiles back. “You’re learning so fast,” he murmurs. Covering the hand on his cheek with his own, he studies the creature’s face. “It didn’t have eyelids a few minutes ago, did it?” he asks.

“Nope.” Baekhyun plops down next to him. “He just grew them. Must have figured out they’re needed for expression.”

“He?” Yifan cocks an eyebrow at Baekhyun. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the plant mimicking the expression, tiny, pale-green filaments blooming above its eyes to create eyebrows of its own.

“We can’t keep calling him _it_ , can we? He’s a sentient creature.”

“It doesn’t have a gender, Baekhyun, or if it does, we have no way of discerning it right now.”

“He’s based his anatomy off of you and I, and we’re both _he_. Why shouldn’t he be?”

Well. That’s a good point. “Alright, he is a he, until such time as he tells us otherwise.”

Baekhyun seems pleased with this, and it warms Yifan to see. “We should name him, too.”

“What? No. He’s a sentient creature, he’ll choose his own name.”

“Quit being so Koharan. He can’t speak yet, he might never be able to speak. How would he choose a name?”

Yifan huffs and crosses his arms. “It’s his first day in this form! Give him some time!”

“ _Some_ races are _always_ named by their parents, you know. It’s not such a big deal.”

“One, we’re not his parents, and two, I will _not_ allow him to be depersonalized in this way.”

“ _Depersonalized!_ ” Baekhyun looks outraged. “It’s an _honor_ to be given a name by those who raise you, you stuck-up Koharan piece of - ”

Hands land on both of their chests, pushing them apart. The plant is between them, glancing back and forth rapidly, its shoulders shaking a little in distress. Immediately, _instinctively_ , both Yifan and Baekhyun reach out to touch him, calm him, all four hands landing on his newly-created body, stroking him until the shivers stop.

Baekhyun chuckles. “I guess he doesn’t like it when his daddies argue,” he teases.

Yifan’s throat constricts. “We’re _not_ his parents,” he mutters, but now he’s thinking about it, thinking about Baekhyun being his mate. Despite that little spat - which was hardly anything, honestly, an argument re-hashed by humans and Koharans over and over for centuries - the thought of it makes his insides squeeze delightedly.

“Whatever you say, man. Hey, are you hungry?”

“Um.” Caught off-guard, Yifan takes stock. “A bit.”

Nodding, Baekhyun says, “There’s not much to cook, here. I’ll run out and grab something.” He stands.

Yifan immediately stands as well. Blinking, the plant follows suit, glancing between them. “Don’t be silly,” Yifan says. “It’s the middle of the day. I’ve got my transport, I’ll go get us something.”

“Nope.” Baekhyun flashes him a little grin. “Our leafy friend here seems to have a much better handle on social interaction, now, but I’d still rather not be left alone with him just yet. I’ll buy, you just make sure he doesn’t destroy my house more than he already has.” He shrugs. “I go out in the daytime all the time, that’s what radiation cloaks are for.”

Oh. Yifan hadn’t realized. It’s really only been a few hours since Baekhyun woke up with the plant physically _assaulting_ him; of course he wouldn’t be comfortable being alone with it yet. “You’re okay with me staying in your home alone?” he asks, just to make certain.

“Sure. I trust you.”

It rings in Yifan’s ears. He can’t do much more than smile hazily as the smaller man pulls on his protective outerwear and leaves.

The plant creature goes right up to the door, pressing his palms flat against it, and looks back at Yifan. His shoulders are hunching again, shivering. Yifan comes over to him, and gently pulls him away from the door.

“It’s okay,” he says softly, cupping the creature’s face again, the only way he can think of to communicate reassurance. “Baekhyun will be back, it’s okay.”

The plant does not seem to understand this, so instead, Yifan tries to think of something to distract him. Nothing immediately comes to mind, and he’s not comfortable enough in Baekhyun’s space yet to go rooting through his things to find something to occupy a distressed plant-man.

Yifan’s comm device beeps. The plant-man doesn’t react, which probably means Baekhyun was right, he’s deaf. Filing that away for later, Yifan lets the plant go so he can answer the call.

It’s the hospital. Yifan feels a little thread of panic - is it Jongdae, did he relapse? - but it’s just a lab tech with the results of the blood sample he took from Baekhyun.

Yifan thanks the woman, and hangs up, and looks at nothing for a long moment.

Baekhyun’s bloodwork came back clean. That’s good. _Better_ than good. But weirdly, Baekhyun’s blood is _very_ clean. _Too_ clean. Especially for someone who, as he just said, goes outside during the day _all the time_.

There isn’t a radiation cloak in the world with a 100% shielding rate. _Every_ human on Kohara has at least some amount of radiation poisoning, it’s literally inevitable, it’s in the _air_. For the majority, the day-to-day protections of cloaks and filters and shielded building materials are enough to keep the levels manageable, and the entire galaxy knows humans are the stubbornest assholes to ever evolve to sentience and will find a way to thrive under basically _any_ conditions anyway. Only the ones who are forced into long-term exposure - like Jongdae - are poisoned to the point where it has an impact on their life.

The number the tech told him is just… impossible.

But it was probably a mistake. A mis-test. Yifan had told the tech to re-test it, to which she agreed, because she _also_ was shocked by the number. The re-test will probably show much more normal levels. And now that Jongdae’s been brought to Yifan’s mind, it gives him an idea of how to keep the plant occupied.

“Come here,” he says, unnecessarily since the plant can’t hear him, and wouldn’t understand him if he did. He crosses the room to the creature’s side, takes him by the elbow and sits him down. The plant sits, considerably less awkwardly than even a few hours ago, since sitting was one of the actions Baekhyun taught him.

Alright, some basics. Yifan gets the plant-man’s attention, makes him look up at Yifan’s face. “Yifan,” he says, over pronouncing it a little so the plant gets a good look at how his mouth moves. At the same time, he holds up his hand and signs his name in Koharan Common sign language. “Yi. Fan.”

The plant-man cocks his head, watching intently. Yifan repeats, and finally, the plant mimics him, both the mouth movement and the hand signs. Pleased, Yifan smiles, and cups the plant’s cheek to communicate _good_. Then, he taps his own chest, gestures at his own body, and does it again. “Yifan.”

It takes a bit, but eventually, the plant seems to understand that this is Yifan’s name, that this combination of signs and mouth movements represents who Yifan is. The plant points at the door, then looks back and changes its face structure, just enough that Yifan can clearly see Baekhyun’s features carved in vines and leaves.

“Baekhyun,” Yifan says, and signs it. “Baek. Hyun.”

The plant learns that, as well. Then, Yifan puts his palm on the plant’s chest, and makes a gesture indicating his whole leafy being. He doesn’t speak, not wanting to confuse the plant, but he’s hoping the plant will choose some gestures to identify himself. Just calling him _the plant_ is getting old.

The plant cocks his head, his face going still, as if considering it. Then, he signs.

Yifan frowns. That looked almost like… but not quite. “Yi-hyun?” he asks, signing at the same time, the first syllable of his own name and the last of Baekhyun’s.

Smooth and ever-warmer fingers rearrange his own. Okay, he didn’t mistake that, then. It’s similar to the hand sign for _hyun_ , but not quite the same, palm forward with only one finger raised. Taken from the greeting gesture, maybe?

“This is pronounced _xing_ ,” Yifan tells him. “Yi. Xing.” He repeats the hand signs. “Is that what we should call you? Yixing?”

Yixing mouths his new name, then slides a hand against Yifan’s cheek and smiles. Yifan feels his own smile threaten to split his face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you've got questions? [i've got answers.](http://ask.fm/unnie_bee)


	4. Chapter 4

A day later, Baekhyun goes back to work. He wishes he could call off the way Yifan did, especially since Yifan also has to work today, but EC shifts are much harder to call off from than research paperwork shifts, and Baekhyun knows his reason isn’t really good enough.

It’s not like he can tell his boss _hey, I need to take some time off, I’ve accidentally adopted an alien plant man._

Which is why he is here at work, barely able to concentrate, worrying about Yixing being left alone for the first time since he gained mobility. Over the course of the past day, they taught Yixing enough sign language between them that rudimentary communication is possible, and they’re _pretty_ certain he will be okay by himself. Yifan even ran over to Baekhyun’s to check on Yixing during his lunch break, and messaged Baekhyun to say he’d found the plant man sitting out on the balcony, happily basking in the intense midday sunlight.

So there’s probably nothing to worry about, but that doesn’t stop Baekhyun from worrying all day long. He tries to disguise his distraction, but he’s pretty certain he doesn’t do very well, and that suspicion is confirmed when, near the end of the day when the center is quiet, Tao corners him near the front desk.

“How was your day off?” he asks, with _far_ more suggestiveness in his tone than the question warrants.

Baekhyun shakes himself out of fretting over what they would do if the government discovered Yixing and focuses on the question. “Um. Fine?”

“Fine?” Tao looks him up and down. “You didn’t do anything… _special_?”

What. “Okay, spit it out,” Baekhyun says, annoyed. “What are you getting at?”

Tao’s sharp-toothed smirk would be terrifyingly predatory, if Baekhyun didn’t know him. “Yifan’s transport was parked outside your building all day yesterday,” he points out. “And he called off. He _never_ calls off.”

Baekhyun is so caught off-guard, he just stares and gapes for an inappropriately long time, which is apparently the wrong answer because it makes Tao’s smirk bloom into a full-out giddy grin.

“He _was_ with you!” Tao exclaims, trying and failing to keep quiet.

“No!” Baekhyun says, and then immediately regrets it because he _knows_ it’s basically impossible to outright lie to a Koharan - they can smell it - and now he’s just made himself look _more_ guilty. “Look, he was visiting me yesterday, but it wasn’t anything…” He makes unspecific gestures. “He was helping me with something.”

“I’ll _bet_ he was.”

“Tao!” Smacking him, Baekhyun almost regrets his decision to up his greeting from two fingers to three with Tao. Koharans put strong boundaries between levels of acquaintance, and if they were only two-fingers familiar - coworkers, nothing more - he wouldn’t be catching shit right now.

“Oh _please_ , Baekhyun, don’t even bother. He’s as attracted to you as you are to him, there’s no way nothing happened.”

That makes Baekhyun frown. “Wait, what the fuck? What gave you the idea I’m attracted to him?”

Something about the way he says it, or his complete lack of blush maybe, seems to finally clue Tao in that Baekhyun is not, in fact, making shit up. The smile fades from Tao’s face. “You’re not? But… you asked me to set up that meeting, and...”

“Because I wanted to talk to him about his _research_!”

A blink. Red eyes go wide, the pupils dilating as Tao realizes his mistake. “Wait, you were serious about that?”

Baekhyun can’t believe this. “What did you think? That I was using that as a pick-up line? That I asked you about the hot doctor’s research because I wanted into his _pants_?”

Immediately, Tao’s eyes narrow again. “ _‘The hot doctor?’_ ” he quotes.

“I have _eyes_ , Tao.” A flash of the eyes Baekhyun saw in his dream flits through Baekhyun’s memory, the gentle purple eyes his mind thoughtfully provided for him when Yixing was doing unintentionally inappropriate things to his body. He suddenly remembers that he may or may not have moaned out Yifan’s name in his sleep and fights back his blush. Tao smirks at him. “Wait, if you thought _that_ was why I wanted to meet him… You didn’t _tell_ him that, did you?”

“No! I just said I had someone for him to meet.” Tao, being a Koharan, is a shitty liar, and Baekhyun gives him the most unimpressed stare he can muster on his too-cute face. “Okay, so I may have heavily implied it.”

Baekhyun groans. “I can’t _believe_ you,” he mumbles.

“Well, I didn’t know! You were staring at him, and you _smelled_ attracted! How was I supposed to know you’re not attracted to Koharans?”

“Tao. What the fuck. I didn’t say _that_ , either.”

Tao squints. “Have you dated a Koharan?”

“Yes! I dated an omega in academy.”

“Ohh.” Tao leans forward on the desk. It’s too close to Baekhyun’s personal space, but Baekhyun’s used to that by this point. “So it’s because he’s an alpha? You’re straight?”

The human labels for sexuality have, by necessity, greatly shifted since humanity allied with Kohara. _Straight_ used to mean _heterosexual_ , but over the course of the past century or so, people have started to use it to refer to someone attracted to both the opposite gender in their own species and the similar gender role in the other. A man attracted to both women and omegas would consider himself straight, as would an omega attracted to both men and alphas. Thetas - and actually, human genders other than the binary as well - tend to get left out of the designation, and Baekhyun has heard Tao complaining about narrow-minded straights more than once.

Baekhyun has never bothered trying to label his sexuality. With so many possible combinations, trying to figure out exactly where he falls seems like too much work.

“Would you stop jumping to every single conclusion?” Baekhyun huffs. “I wouldn’t be _opposed_ to dating an alpha, but Yifan is a _friend_. Nothing more.”

Tao is silent for a moment, studying him. His lip quirks. “Wow, humans really _are_ that clueless. I thought that was a myth.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Tao says. “Just that you’re a complete idiot if you think Yifan only wants to be _friends_. I mean, I know he can be an inscrutable bastard sometimes, but you seriously can’t smell how attracted he is to you?”

Stunned by this, Baekhyun takes a moment himself to gape. “You’re delusional.”

“He _reeked_ with it that night. And Yifan’s not really a guy who reeks, you know? He’s got a better handle on it than most alphas I know, but trust me, his pheromones were driving Jongin crazy all night long.” Tao wiggles his eyebrows. “Which was great for me, but it must really suck for him, to want you that badly and have you be completely oblivious.”

Tao’s talking about it like Yifan wants to throw him down and _ravish_ him, and that just breaks Baekhyun’s brain. Yifan? Calm, steady, perfectly proper Doctor Wu, who didn’t even _touch_ Baekhyun until they were past three-fingers familiar, who stayed in Baekhyun’s apartment for a full day without once making a sly comment about the place smelling like him, and slept sitting up on the floor rather than even attempting to suggest they share the bed?

Ignoring the little voice in his mind that says _remember how he dealt with those thugs harassing Jongdae, though? Remember how he held you last night?_ , Baekhyun shoves Tao away. “You’re nuts. Stop trying to fuck with my head, man.”

Tao catches his wrist. “Yifan is my friend,” he says, and the joking is gone from his voice. Baekhyun freezes. “Don’t be a dick to him. You hurt him, I will hunt you down, which won’t be very hard seeing as I know where you work and where you live and stuff.”

Unsettled, Baekhyun rips his hand away. “We are _just friends_ ,” he hisses. “And I will wait until _he_ says something before I act any differently.”

“Hey, is everything okay here?”

Baekhyun doesn’t need to see Tao’s flinch; he knows that deep, raspy voice quite well by now. “Sure, we’re fine,” he says as he turns. “Just shooting the shit.” 

It’s not quite a lie, but Yifan does not look convinced. He glances between them suspiciously, then snags Baekhyun’s sleeve and tugs him away from the desk, blocking out Baekhyun’s view of Tao with his own broad shoulders. He’s wearing a lab coat again today, and framed spectacles, and looks so completely dispassionate and unthreatening that Baekhyun is convinced Tao was making the entire thing up just to screw with his head.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder at Tao, Yifan lowers his voice. “I’m heading out,” he says. “Did you want me to swing by your place and check on the project?”

Hyper-aware that Tao probably can still hear them, Baekhyun lowers his voice to a bare whisper. “Please,” he says. “I'll be home in an hour or so.”

“You’re sure?” Baekhyun nods, and Yifan flashes a small smile. “Alright. Comm me if you need me.” He looks over his shoulder. “And you, quit being pushy.”

He leaves, and as soon as he's out of earshot, Tao gives Baekhyun the most condescending look he’s ever experienced. “He literally just dragged you away from me. Yeah, that’s perfectly normal and not alpha claiming behavior _at all_.”

Baekhyun sneers, but his stomach does a strange little flop. “Delusional.”

“ _Comm me if you need me,_ ” Tao mocks. “Comm me if you need a huge, muscular alpha dick shoved in your -”

“TAO.” Baekhyun’s face is _flaming_ , his heartbeat pounding with shame in his ears. “We are _at work_ and he is our _co-worker_. Have some goddamn propriety!”

Tao seems to realize he went too far, because his body language shrinks, and his face falls. “Look,” he says defensively, “just quit being so blind, okay? I hate seeing him pining like this.”

Baekhyun’s _so_ done with this conversation. “Whatever,” he mutters.

Awkward silence. Baekhyun busies himself with closing out some open records on a nearby console.

“Um… do you want to leave early?”

Squinting at Tao, Baekhyun asks, “Why?”

“‘Cause. You look like you want to go. I’ll cover for you, go on.” Tao flashes a smile, closed-lipped and big-eyed, and Baekhyun realizes this is his form of peace offering for being a jerk.

“Yeah,” he says. “Thanks.” He flashes a closed-lipped smile of his own and gets gone before Tao can change his mind.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

This is the second time now that Yifan has let himself into Baekhyun's home when Baekhyun isn't there. It doesn't feel any less taboo the second time around, but Yifan reminds himself that there are extenuating circumstances and Baekhyun has given him explicit permission.

Earlier in the day, he'd half-expected to come in and find the place destroyed by a distressed or curious Yixing, but didn't. Now, he comes in expecting to find Yixing still basking on the balcony - and instead opens the door to the bedroom and walks into a disaster zone.

Yixing is sitting on the floor near the closet in a pile of Baekhyun's clothes, with a pair of jeans around his shoulders like a scarf and a button-up tunic spread across his lap. Dark eyes snap up to meet Yifan's. They've changed, and Yifan immediately crosses the room so he can get a closer look.

Crouching, Yifan takes Yixing's chin in his hand, tilting his face up. Yixing's eyes aren't grainy like the center of a flower anymore, they're glassy and compound, like an insect's. He smiles, signing _hello_ with one hand. 

"Hello, Yixing," Yifan says, signing it at the same time. "What are you doing?"

Yixing appears to think about this, or more likely, how to express himself in the very limited sign vocabulary they've taught him so far. _What this?_ he signs eventually, plucking at the fabric draped over his body.

"Clothes." Yifan touches the clothes on Yixing, the ones on himself, the ones on the floor. Yixing mimics the sign, mouthing the sound.

 _Why clothes?_ Yixing asks.

Explaining a concept like modesty to a person who can only understand a few dozen words is pretty much outside of Yifan's capabilities. Instead, he takes the shirt from Yixing's lap and helps him to put it on properly. He helps Yixing stand and put the jeans on as well.

They're Baekhyun's clothes, which means they don't fit Yixing quite right. The shirt is too tight through the chest, the jeans too loose through the waist and hips. A strip of flat, bright green belly can be seen where the jeans sag and the shirt rides up. Other than that, though, the addition of clothes makes Yixing seem... _way_ more normal. They soften the ridges of his woven-vine body structure and make him seem like a regular, and quite nicely built, young man.

 _Is good?_ Yixing asks. Yifan cups his cheek and nods, making Yixing smile, pleased. _Yifan, no clothes?_

It takes Yifan a few minutes and some exchanging of gestures before he figures out what Yixing is trying to ask. "You want me to take my clothes off?" he asks, tugging the hem of his shirt up a little to illustrate what he's trying to say.

Yixing nods. _Clothes not Yifan,_ Yixing signs. _Yixing see Yifan._

Yifan wonders if Yixing originally thought clothes were a part of Yifan and Baekhyun's bodies. If he'd never seen them before, he might not have realized they were a separate entity until just now. Yifan glances at the clock - at least half an hour before Baekhyun is supposed to get off his shift.

"Okay," he says, and steps back to strip down.

Over the course of the past day and a half, Yixing has learned to blink at regular intervals. Baekhyun had speculated that he was doing it as a mimicked action and not because he actually needs to blink, and Yifan finds out Baekhyun is right when he lets his slacks drop to the ground and Yixing stops blinking entirely, his eyes fixed on Yifan's body.

Hands land on Yifan's stomach, curiously curling around his sides. Under Baekhyun's shirt, Yifan sees Yixing's body shape changing as he examines Yifan's. Until this point, Yixing had pretty much been basing himself solely on human musculature, but Koharan musculature is a little different and Yifan can actually see Yixing assimilating this new information.

On a whim, Yifan puts his own hand on Yixing's stomach, sliding it under the shirt, and bites back a gasp as he feels Yixing's body structure rearrange from a human's segmented abdominals to a Koharan's long, tight, tapering abdominals. Warm, too-smooth fingers trace out the cuts between Yifan's stomach muscles, and Yifan feels Yixing's own deepen in response.

Yifan wants to let Yixing explore, wants to help him learn, but it's kind of hard to hold still under the alien's touch. He tries not to hold back his responses too much, wanting Yixing to know he can feel it, to help him understand that this kind of touch has an effect on the other person. The problem is, Yixing's hands are _very_ curious, and the glide of his hands over Yifan's skin is _very_ smooth, and the room smells _very much like Baekhyun_ but also like flowers and grass and honey, like _Yixing_.

So Yifan can be forgiven, perhaps, for letting a few too-suggestive moans drop from his lips, for arching too much into Yixing's touch. It feels good, and he knows Yixing wouldn't read anything into it.

When Yixing's hand slides down between his thighs, though, Yifan's control wavers. He grasps Yixing's shoulder with one hand, but doesn't stop him as curious fingers dip into Yifan's slit and brush against the head of his retracted cock.

Yixing looks up in surprise, with a question in his dark, compound eyes. And Yifan is all about education, so he takes a deep breath and relaxes, letting his already partially erect cock slide forward and out.

If Yixing could yell, Yifan is sure he would have. Both his hands reach, cupping Yifan's cock, tugging it up, feeling it and examining it. Yifan swallows back his urge to snarl as arousal lances through him. Yixing is only curious. He doesn't know any better, he _couldn't_.

He would have no way of predicting the burst of pleasure that would shoot up Yifan's belly when his fingers brush under the head of his cock, making his cock throb and quickly double in size, the muscles along the top contracting instinctively until it's curved up and pointing at Yixing's face. The reaction seems to fascinate Yixing, who touches a finger to the slit in the head, wiping away the drop of precome that's starting to gather there.

And then puts it in his mouth.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Yifan says quickly, a little disturbed by how sexy Yixing's pale green, twisted-vine tongue looked to him just then. He takes a step back, signing, "No more."

Yixing nods in acknowledgement, showing no signs of concern or embarrassment, just acceptance of Yifan's request. Yifan takes a second to close his eyes and slow his breath, purposely trying to block out Baekhyun's permeating scent and the phantom feeling of Yixing's too-smooth hands on his cock. It takes a moment - a _long_ moment - before his cock relaxes enough that he can retract it again, most of the way anyway.

He glances at the clock, and then hurries to pull his clothes back on. Baekhyun should be getting off-shift any moment, which means he'll be home soon.

With Yixing watching curiously, Yifan starts attempting to sort through the pile of clothes on the floor. There's a lot of them. Fortunately, it's all outer layers, tops and pants. No underwear, no socks, nothing too personal. _Un_ fortunately, Yifan quickly realizes that some of the clothes are clean and some are dirty, because the dirty ones smell _overwhelmingly_ of Baekhyun instead of like Baekhyun-plus-detergent. A glance in the closet shows that Yixing pulled clothes off the racks and out of the laundry hamper indiscriminately, probably not realizing they were sorted that way for a reason.

Groaning, Yifan sets to work sorting the clean from the dirty by smell. It's _really_ not helping his erection, which keeps throbbing every time he puts his nose into a particularly Baekhyun-y smelling shirt, rubbing at the insides of his sheath and keeping him from calming down. Yixing hovering around him isn't helping either, because he keeps touching Yifan, and Yifan could swear his hands are getting warmer even than before.

Eventually, the clothes are put away, and Yifan looks up at the time readout with a frown.

Baekhyun should have been home by now.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

_pcwhy: hey, baek, why is my comm telling me you no longer exist?_

_pcwhy: baek?_

_pcwhy: ...hey, bro, are you okay?_

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

He can hear Yifan before he even reaches the door, even with relatively shitty human hearing. Tiredly, Baekhyun leans his shoulder against the door and listens for a moment.

“What do you mean, he left right after me? Tao, that was an _hour_ ago!” A beat. “No, I am not going to calm down. He’s not answering his comm, what if something happened?!”

Baekhyun can’t decide if Yifan’s worry is over-possessive or just precious. He decides to cut the guy a break, and punches in his keycode.

Yifan is standing in the middle of his main room, all puffed up with something just shy of a snarl on his face. He looks up, and the relief that sweeps his features makes Baekhyun’s heart skip. “He just walked in, Tao. Bye.” Snapping his comm closed, Yifan takes in Baekhyun’s appearance and immediately concludes, “Something happened. Are you alright?”

Closing the door behind himself, Baekhyun slumps back. “You’re very observant,” he says wryly. “What gave it away?” Probably his ripped, dirty clothes, which were hospital-pristine an hour ago.

“You can’t be too hurt if you’re snarking like that,” Yifan says, but he crowds right into Baekhyun’s space, looking him over with worried eyes. “What happened?” His hands are huge and hot on Baekhyun’s shoulders, his neck; Baekhyun lets his eyes flutter shut and allows himself to enjoy the attention. It’s kind of nice, knowing that someone noticed he was delayed, that someone would have cared if he didn’t come home.

“I got jumped,” Baekhyun admits, his voice low. “I was distracted, I was thinking about -” He stutters over it, and quickly changes what he was going to say. “About Yixing. I didn’t see them until I was on the ground.”

Yifan _snarls_. His grip on Baekhyun’s shoulders constricts, and Baekhyun’s heart does a strange little shimmy. Was Tao right?

“Take it easy, big guy,” Baekhyun says in his best soothing nurse tone. His own hands come up to press against Yifan’s chest, forcing a little distance between them. “I’m okay. They didn’t hurt me, they just took my comm.”

“Did they threaten you?” Yifan asks, and his voice is deeper and more resonant than Baekhyun has ever heard it be. “Did they have weapons?”

They did, but Baekhyun’s not sure how Yifan will react to that, so he skirts the question. “They just knocked me down and demanded the comm,” he says tiredly. “Nothing I haven’t dealt with a dozen times.” He sags against the door for only a moment before Yifan tugs him forward and into a firm embrace. “Yifan,” he says, surprised.

“I called you,” Yifan says. It rumbles from his chest right into Baekhyun’s. “There was no answer, and when I called the EC Tao said you’d left an hour ago. I was worried.”

Slowly, Baekhyun gives in, bringing his arms up to rest against Yifan’s waist. “I’m really okay,” he says. “Someone nearby called an ambulance, they got there right after the attackers left and checked me over. No damage but a couple of scrapes from hitting the pavement.” Always a bit weird being seen to by your coworkers, but kind of inevitable when you live and work in the same emergency district. “That’s why it took me so long to get home. I’m lucky they only wanted my comm, I guess.”

“You need to get it wiped.”

“Already did. One of the medics lent me hers so I could call in the theft.” Comm devices are the key a person’s identity, including their finance accounts, personal information, everything. Baekhyun’s was given to him by the hospital; he’s already called the comm department to have them wipe his old device remotely and order a new one. “It’ll be waiting for me when I get into work tomorrow afternoon.” He’ll have to check his accounts to see if they used the comm before it could be wiped, but that can wait until tomorrow.

Yifan sighs, his posture relaxing and curling in towards Baekhyun. “Good.”

They stand, for a moment. Baekhyun can hear someone - Yixing, it has to be - moving in the bedroom, but his face is buried in Yifan’s chest so he can’t see.

“So, um.” Baekhyun clears his throat. “Wanna tell me why you’re just… clinging?”

He feels Yifan go tense, a bare second before he pulls away. Koharans don’t really have the same blush reaction a human does, but Yifan might as well be bright red for the sheepishness on his face. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” he mumbles.

Baekhyun stops him from going too far with a hand on his wrist. Now that they’ve separated, he can see Yixing watching them from the doorway, frozen like an inanimate object, his dark eyes curious. “It’s okay, I’m not… look, Zitao said something earlier. I just wasn’t sure if it was true.”

Half a dozen emotions flick across Yifan’s features, almost too fast to see, before his face settles again into what Baekhyun is beginning to realize is a mask of noncommittal blankness. “Tao has a big mouth,” Yifan says, his rueful tone belying his expression.

“So it _is_ true.”

Yifan sighs. “I’m going to guess Tao told you I’m attracted to you. I’m also going to guess, knowing Tao, that he was a dick about it.” Baekhyun’s face must say it all, because Yifan pinches the bridge of his nose. “I apologize. I promise you, it won’t become an issue.”

Studying him, Baekhyun cocks his head. “Except when something happens to me,” he murmurs, “and you either freak out, or drop everything to rush to my side, or both.”

Yifan’s eyes squinch further shut. “Some parts of my instincts are harder to control than others,” he mumbles. Then, he opens one eye, bright violet against his darkly tanned skin. “I would have come at your call the other night regardless of my attraction. You know that, right?”

“Would you? Really?” That _had_ been bothering him earlier. It was one of the reasons he’d been too distracted to notice a couple of thugs sneaking up behind him. “You would have jumped out of bed in the middle of the night for anyone?”

A half-smile. “Maybe not anyone. But my friends? Yes, of course.”

“What about cuddling them on the stairs?”

Yifan clears his throat. “Um. That might. Depend on the friend.”

Baekhyun laughs. “Alright, I’ll stop grilling you. Thank you for being honest with me, and for…” He smiles. “For being there for me. And helping me with this guy.” He jerks his thumb at Yixing, who is still watching them. “Though now I kind of want to know why he’s wearing my clothes. Not that they don’t look cute on him, but did he come up with that idea, or did you?”

“He did, if you can believe it.” Without turning, Yifan signs Yixing’s name over his shoulder, and beckons. Immediately, Yixing comes over to them.

 _Baekhyun good?_ he signs. His expressions are not always the easiest to read, but Baekhyun thinks he looks concerned.

“I’m fine, Yixing,” Baekhyun says, and signs it. They’re doing their best to sign and speak at the same time when talking to Yixing, so that he gets used to reading lips. Yixing smiles, and Baekhyun cups his cheek. “You’re taller.” He’s a good half a head taller than Baekhyun, now.

Yixing nods. _Yixing learn,_ he signs, and starts unbuttoning the shirt he’s wearing.

“We have to work on his first-person speech,” Baekhyun mumbles to Yifan. “What is he doing?”

“I think he might be showing you what he learned today,” Yifan guesses. “He learned about clothes, and how they are separate from the body, and how to put them on.”

Baekhyun cocks an eyebrow. “Also how to take them off, it seems.” Yixing barely struggles at all with the clothes. As they drop to the floor, Baekhyun frowns, and steps closer. “Did he change his body again?”

“Yeah. We, uh, were learning about that, too.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth to ask exactly _how_ Yixing learned about Koharan anatomy, but just then, the vines that make up Yixing’s heretofore doll-like, featureless crotch suddenly part, and an utterly _massive_ cock made out of tightly twisted vines pushes forward.

Speechless, Baekhyun’s jaw drops. At the side of his vision, he sees Yifan cover his face with a broad palm and groan out swear words in a Koharan language so esoteric that only the medical profession even bothers to learn it anymore.

 _Yixing learn!_ Yixing signs, smiling brightly.

Baekhyun bursts out laughing. “Yifan, what the heck did you do? Did you _expose_ yourself to this poor impressionable boy?”

“He asked me to!” Yifan exclaims. “I double-checked to be sure I wasn’t misunderstanding, but he _definitely_ asked me to.”

“Do you take your clothes off for _anyone_ who asks?” Baekhyun jibes, still giggling.

Yifan’s eyes go abruptly dark, his slit pupils widening sharply. “That,” he says softly, “depends on who is asking.”

His laughter dying, Baekhyun meets Yifan’s eyes. The innuendo is crystal fucking clear and catches Baekhyun by surprise.

“Um.” Baekhyun clears his throat and looks back to Yixing. “Clothes, please,” he signs.

Yixing smiles and complies. Before he goes to pull the pants on, he has to put away his new cock, which he does not retract into his body like a true Koharan, but simply _unravels_ it, splitting it into individual vines which re-integrate into his form.

“That was a hell of a cock,” Baekhyun mumbles, half to himself. “I think he got the proportions a little off.”

It’s Yifan’s turn to clear his throat. “No, that was correct.”

Baekhyun looks up at him. Yifan cocks an eyebrow.

Dropping his eyes, Baekhyun busies himself helping Yixing, who is fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. “You’re flirting with me,” he accuses, his stomach fluttering ever so slightly.

“Is it working?”

A smile spreads over Baekhyun’s face. He tries to stop it, and fails. “You tell me,” he murmurs. “You’re the one with the super-nose.”

Yifan takes a step closer. “It’s actually quite hard to tell at the moment,” Yifan admits. “Yixing is particularly pungent right now.”

Ha. “Good! Koharans have too much of an advantage over humans anyway.” He turns and pats Yixing on the shoulder. “Thanks, Xing.”

Suddenly, there is heat radiating on his back, and a puff of breath on his neck. Baekhyun jumps in startlement, and big hands catch his shoulders and steady him. Yifan bends down and presses his face right behind Baekhyun’s ear, pulling in a long sniff.

Baekhyun shudders and goes red.

“Hmm. Interesting.” As quickly as he came, Yifan moves away. “There are still leftovers from last night, yes? I’ll heat them up.”

“Are you _nesting?_ Stop that!”

Yifan flashes him a grin. “I can now say with relative confidence that you like it.” Baekhyun swallows heavily, because Yifan isn’t wrong. “Besides, Yixing’s trying to get your attention.”

Oh, is that what the tugging on his shirt is? Baekhyun turns and finds Yixing signing at him. _Baekhyun, no clothes?_ he asks.

Baekhyun looks back at Yifan. “You’re a bad influence on him.”

“He’s just curious, Baek. You can, um, go in the bedroom?” Yifan gestures at the little cooking station. “I’ll just. Be here.”

“Uh.” Baekhyun looks at the bedroom, at Yixing, and then back at Yifan. “Okay, I guess.”

His hesitation must be apparent, and Yifan quickly figures out why. “Earlier, when he asked me, he didn’t… it’s not going to be like the night he woke you up,” Yifan assures him. “He stopped touching me when I asked him to. It’ll be okay.” He flashes a smile. “And if he gets too clingy, I’m right here. Just yell and I’ll break the door down.”

 _Break the door down._ Shit. Right. That’s actually more reassuring than terrifying, which probably says a lot about how Baekhyun feels about Yifan right now. “Okay,” he says, with slightly more confidence. “I should change, anyway.” He takes Yixing's hand and leads him into the bedroom.

Stripping down for Yixing's perusal is more than a little strange. Yixing reaches out immediately, putting his hands on Baekhyun's chest and sliding down. One hand stays on his abs, and the other drops lower, sliding lightly over Baekhyun's cock. Baekhyun just breathes, letting him touch and wondering if Yixing would mind if he did a little touching of his own. He can see Yixing's body shifting, changing shape again, but he can't tell exactly how because for once the alien is clothed.

Tentatively, Baekhyun puts his own hand on Yixing’s stomach. Yixing doesn’t move away, doesn’t seem to care at all, so Baekhyun lets his fingertips dip under the hem of the shirt he’s wearing to touch bare… well, not skin, exactly. Vines? Plant?

The difference between how Yixing’s body feels now and how he felt as an oddly-shaped little sprout is as night and day. He’s still too cool, too firm and crisp-feeling to really feel like flesh, but he’s so much warmer, so much smoother and more supple than before. There’s much less space between his woven vines now, his form coalescing and solidifying, and in places Baekhyun can feel that certain vines are actually growing together, merging.

Yixing cups Baekhyun’s balls in his hand, spreading his fingers to feel around, and Baekhyun shudders and bites back a moan. The front of the jeans Yixing is wearing shifts, and Baekhyun drops his own hand to brush against the fly, just in time to feel Yixing creating himself a cock. It’s not at all the same as the alpha cock he was mimicking earlier, but it isn’t exactly like Baekhyun’s, either. It feels bigger, and firmer. Yixing can mimic the shape of a soft cock, but he can’t mimic the texture.

Of course, Baekhyun’s cock is only _half_ -soft now, and the more Yixing touches it, the more it perks up and the more interested Yixing becomes. For a moment, Baekhyun forgets that this is supposed to be no more than a learning experience and tugs Yixing’s body closer by the waist. Yixing crowds right into his personal space, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s back and clinging happily.

“You have good taste in bodies,” Baekhyun murmurs absently as his hands roam under Yixing’s shirt and over his basket-woven back. He’s filled out more since the last time Baekhyun looked, and his beautifully crafted musculature is a graceful cross between human and Koharan anatomy, wide shoulders and a tight waist and an exposed line of slightly rough bark up the center. Baekhyun strokes up Yixing’s spine, petting the bark, and Yixing squirms. “I mean, it must help that you’ve got a couple of good ones to base yourself on, but still. This is a heck of a nice body you’re building.”

Yixing puts a hand on Baekhyun’s chest, high up at the base of his neck. It takes Baekhyun a moment to realize he’s feeling Baekhyun’s voice vibrate. Baekhyun hums for him, and Yixing smiles, crowding closer, until Baekhyun ends up pressed right against his body, chest to chest with thighs intertwined.

Baekhyun palms Yixing’s ass over the jeans. It’s very firm, probably too firm for human flesh, but Baekhyun likes the shape of it, the way it fills his hands. He rubs it a little, careful not to squeeze too much - they don’t actually know yet how easy it would be to crush or damage Yixing’s body.

Yixing shifts, arching into the movement. His jean-clad thigh brushes up against Baekhyun’s bare erection, and Baekhyun’s moan vibrates through their chests.

Cupping Baekhyun’s cheek in one hand, Yixing signs with the other one. _Good feel this,_ he says.

Baekhyun doesn’t bother to correct his word order. He just sighs, covers Yixing’s hand with his own, and breathes in his sweet scent for a long moment.

“We should get back to Yifan,” Baekhyun murmurs. Yixing watches his mouth move, and mouths _Yifan_ back. “Yes. Yifan,” Baekhyun repeats with a smile. He pulls back enough to free one hand and signs, “Yixing, what clothes should Baekhyun wear?”

There’s a couple of new words in there, but Yixing already knows enough to catch the meaning. His eyes go to the closet, and he goes very still for a moment, apparently thinking. Eventually he moves away and starts rummaging through Baekhyun’s things. He picks out a few and brings them to Baekhyun with something like hope in his eyes.

“Plants aren’t supposed to be cute,” Baekhyun mumbles, but he takes the clothes Yixing has chosen. It’s the only pair of shorts he owns, which he uses to sleep in when the hot season makes even his temperature-controlled environment uncomfortably warm, and two shirts, both of them sleeveless. He raises an eyebrow at Yixing, who immediately mimics the expression back at him. “Okay, apparently you want me to show some skin.”

The shorts are black, so Baekhyun pulls on the dark blue sleeveless shirt instead of the brown one. His cock’s still a little bit flushed, and his shorts do little to hide it, but Baekhyun is feeling daring enough not to care.

Normally, he would never wear something like this with guests around, especially not Koharan guests, and especially not guests who have admitted outright to being sexually attracted to him. But he’s still feeling a little flustered by that surprise-sniff move Yifan pulled on him earlier, and more than a little flattered by the attention.

And he’s kind of curious how much it might take to get the alpha’s very proper facade to crack.

With a deep breath, Baekhyun ignores the fluttering of his stomach, takes Yixing’s hand, and leads him back out into the main room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you've got questions? [i've got answers.](http://ask.fm/unnie_bee)


	5. Chapter 5

Yifan is already setting out food when Baekhyun and Yixing return to the front room. Baekhyun's table is too small for more than one person, so he's got the food out on the couch table in front of the entertainment screen.

“I thought maybe Yixing could benefit from a documentary or something,” he says, and then looks up. He stops, and his eyes drop obviously down Baekhyun's body, eyebrows raising when he gets to the obvious bulge in Baekhyun's soft sleeping shorts. “He got to you too, I see.”

His tone sounds far too dry and unaffected. Baekhyun loves a good challenge. “He's a pretty touchy guy, it seems,” he says, oh-so-casually stretching his arms over his head. “A documentary? Not a movie?”

Yifan's eyes are dilating, slit pupils widening until the lavender is overtaken by black. It could be an expression of arousal - or he might just be hungry. “Until Yixing has a better grasp of language, I'd rather not show him anything fictional. We'd have no way to discern if he understood it wasn't real.”

“Mmmm. Good point.” Baekhyun plops down on the couch. “Did you have anything in particular in mind?”

They end up putting on a documentary about the development of Koharan cities, which is relatively dry, but they agree it would be helpful for Yixing to see urbanity before he attempts to go out into it. 

Yixing, however, seems to be far more interested in the food they're eating, though he can't consume it himself. He keeps getting in their way while they eat, and finally just climbs up into Yifan's lap to try and steal the food right from his chopsticks.

“I'm pretty sure you can't digest steak,” Baekhyun comments amusedly as he watches Yifan try to fend off a clingy plant man. “Unless you've suddenly developed internal organs.”

“I wouldn't put past him, honestly,” Yifan mumbles. Giving up, he lets Yixing take a bite. “I guess if nothing else, it'll be trapped inside his body until it decomposes, and he can just absorb it.”

Chewing happily, Yixing grins at him. He puts a hand to Yifan's cheek and mouths _good._

He also doesn't get off Yifan's lap. Yifan sighs and re-settles him, half picking him up so he can turn and face the screen. Yixing's not light, but Yifan makes it look easy, and Baekhyun's gut flutters a little.

He gets side-eyed, and drops his own gaze, a blush rising in his cheeks. This close together, not even Yixing's overpoweringly sweet scent can mask his own hormones, and he knows it. Baekhyun doesn't even try to hide his attraction; he just scoots closer, until his thigh is brushing Yifan's.

This close, he feels more than hears Yifan's soft, rumbling growl. “Are you actively _trying_ to drive me nuts?” he murmurs.

Baekhyun grins cheekily. “Is it working?” he asks, throwing Yifan's own words back at him.

A big hand lands on his thigh, wrapping around firmly and sliding down towards his knee, as if Yifan is mapping out his shape. His thumb massages gently into the bare skin just below the hemline of Baekhyun's shorts, rubbing small circles.

“You tell me,” Yifan murmurs.

Yixing’s face is twisted over his shoulder, watching them both curiously. He's so impressionable, and Baekhyun knows it. They shouldn't be flirting like this in front of him.

Baekhyun knows that, but he lets his thighs fall a little further open anyway, shifting on the couch until he's nudging Yifan's side. Yifan's arm lifts, allowing him to snuggle under it, and curls in to pull him close. Yixing shifts too, turning back around again to face them and straddling their thighs so he's half in each lap.

Resting his hand on Yixing's hip, Baekhyun leans into Yifan's chest. His nurse training tells him that Yifan's heartbeat is racing, far too fast for a Koharan, and Baekhyun smiles. He can't disguise _everything._

They settle like that for a moment, both of them pretending they're watching the screen when they're actually just feeling the other's touch. Yifan ends up tugging Yixing's head down onto his chest as well, ostensibly because he can't otherwise see the screen. It leaves Yixing and Baekhyun staring at each other under Yifan's chin.

Yixing gently runs his fingers over Baekhyun's features. Touches his eyelashes, traces out his nose, follows the curve of his cheek. Baekhyun lets him, knowing that he's curious, he's still learning.

A smooth, cool finger, the surface slightly twisted from the vines that melded to create it, carefully brushes his mouth. Baekhyun's lips part instinctively, and Yixing’s finger gently explores, tracing the insides of his lips, counting out his teeth, sliding against his tongue. He tastes sweet, like fruit.

Now curious himself, Baekhyun lifts his head a bit to get a better angle and licks over Yixing’s hand. Yixing's fingertips taste different from the rest of his hands. Odd.

Soft swearing in ancient Koharan rumbles through him. “Shit,” Yifan murmurs. “How can I bribe you into doing that to me?”

Baekhyun's eyes flutter up to meet Yifan's, which are now completely black. He lets Yixing's fingers slide out of his mouth with a little pop. “Ask me nicely,” he challenges.

Yifan stares for a moment. Then he grabs Yixing, lifts him bodily, and shifts him so he's sitting on Yifan's far thigh. Baekhyun barely has the chance to process that before Yifan grabs him too, hauling him over and up into Yifan's lap.

Baekhyun comes to rest perched on Yifan's knee. Yifan's lean thighs have to spread quite widely to accommodate both Baekhyun and Yixing, but he doesn't seem to mind very much. He wraps one arm around Yixing's waist and presses his other hand to Baekhyun's lips.

“Please,” Yifan breathes. He turns his hand, enveloping Baekhyun's cheek in warmth, his thumb tugging Baekhyun's lower lip down just a little.

Heat crawls up Baekhyun's spine. Without breaking eye contact, he turns his head slightly and presses a soft, wet kiss to the spot between Yifan's thumb and first finger.

Yifan's moan shakes the couch and makes Yixing startle. Both Yifan and Baekhyun steady him with their free hands as Baekhyun opens his mouth and licks up the side of Yifan's finger. Koharans have a more acidic body chemistry than humans, and Baekhyun had heard that alphas in particular tasted different, but he isn't prepared for the tangy burst on his tongue, or how very well it compliments the leftover sweetness from Yixing's skin. It's… _delicious._

With a small moan of his own, Baekhyun sets to work in earnest, kissing and licking and nibbling on every little bit of Yifan's hand, chasing the tanginess with his tongue. He's very aware of Yifan's gaze locked onto him in silent surprise, of Yixing watching him with curious intensity.

He's got his tongue between Yifan's second and third fingers when Yifan snaps. Growling low in his throat like the apex predator his people pretend they no longer are, he grabs Baekhyun by the hair and drags him into a violently passionate kiss.

Baekhyun knows - from experience - that most omegas will go limp and pliant if they're grabbed like that. But Baekhyun's not a Koharan, he's not an omega. He fists his hand into Yifan's shirt and rolls his hips down, grinding his already throbbing erection into Yifan's long, firm thigh. Immediately, Yifan's thigh pushes up, and his hand slides down Baekhyun's back to possessively palm his ass. He moans right into Baekhyun's mouth.

The kiss isn't even a little bit nice. Baekhyun explores Yifan's mouth with his tongue, with the same intense curiosity that Yixing earlier had explored Baekhyun's with his fingers. He lets his tongue dance carefully over the sharp edges of Yifan's pointed teeth, quickly becoming addicted to the tangy taste of his mouth. Yifan allows him to explore, his arousal once more pinned back by his propriety, the only hints at how turned on he is being his hot hand restlessly kneading Baekhyun's ass and his heartbeat racing under Baekhyun's palm.

The sudden smell of something sweet gets Baekhyun's attention, and he pulls back just enough to breathe. Yixing's face is pushed right up next to theirs, curiously watching from a hair’s-breadth away. His eyes drop down to Baekhyun’s mouth, and then flick back up to meet Baekhyun’s eyes.

Baekhyun leans in and kisses him, too.

It takes Yixing barely a moment to figure out what to do. His lips aren’t as soft as they look like they should be, but they’re flexible and clever, and his twisted-tendril tongue is pointed and caresses Baekhyun’s own with far more dexterity than a human’s ever could, sending violent shudders through Baekhyun’s body. Moaning, Baekhyun pulls him close, finding his too-firm body and the perfect smoothness of his skin to be far hotter than it really has a right to be.

Yifan’s grip on Baekhyun tightens. Baekhyun pulls back to see him watching them, his eyes blown dark. The moment he does, Yifan tugs Yixing forward and kisses him, very gently at first. Then Yixing paws a little at his jawline and flicks out his tongue, obviously asking for more, and Yifan lets his mouth drop open.

Yixing deepens the kiss, but almost immediately pulls back, startled. Sap drips from his lip, pinkish and slick - he cut his mouth on Yifan’s sharp fangs.

“Sorry,” Yifan murmurs. He’s licking his lips, cleaning the sap off them. “Shit, he tastes so good.”

Curious, Baekhyun leans in and kisses Yixing’s mouth clean. It _does_ taste good, very sweet and light, and Baekhyun moans again and deepens the kiss. He can feel the little cut closing right under his tongue.

There’s a hot touch to bare skin at his side, and Baekhyun shivers but does not break his kiss as Yifan’s huge hand slowly slides under his shirt. He does no more than just cup Baekhyun’s side, but his hand is so big it splays from his pantsline to his ribs, fingertips stretching halfway to his spine while the thumb slides along the outside of his abs. The touch is gentle but _so_ sexy and Baekhyun arches into it, his cock pulsing and pushing up a tent in his shorts.

Immediately, he feels lips on his neck, followed by a shudder-inducing brush of very sharp teeth. “Fuck, Baekhyun,” Yifan murmurs. “You’re make it difficult to stay in control of myself.”

“Control is overrated,” Baekhyun gasps into Yixing’s mouth. He wraps his hand around Yifan’s arm, squeezing curiously. Yifan is a different kind of firm than Yixing and Baekhyun is on _fire._

Yifan tugs Baekhyun away from Yixing and back onto his own mouth, and then a moment later he feels Yixing’s mouth pressing curiously to his neck, mimicking what Yifan was just doing. Groaning, gasping, Baekhyun writhes between them.

“If you want this,” Yifan murmurs into Baekhyun's mouth, “I will take you to bed right this moment. Just say it, Baek.”

Shit. Baekhyun should hesitate, he should think about the consequences. But he doesn't.

“I want this,” he whispers, his heartbeat racing. Yixing's hand is sliding up his chest, making him arch, setting his senses alight. Vaguely, he thinks he's way too worked up, but it feels so good he can't bring himself to care.

Yifan's face twists into something primal, baring his fangs. He surges forward, and Baekhyun yelps and clings as Yifan stands, lifting him bodily in his arms.

He stumbles a bit, his stance spreading. Yixing is clinging reflexively to his side, vines from his torso and arms unraveling and wrapping around Yifan's body, tying Baekhyun tightly to Yifan's front. Yifan barely seems to feel the extra weight, and once he gets his balance under him, he moves straight for the bedroom, carrying them both.

“We're not going to lock Xing out, are we?” Baekhyun asks. For some reason, the idea upsets him. Yixing should be there with them.

“He can stay,” Yifan grunts as he kicks the door closed behind them. “It'll be a learning experience.”

With Yixing clinging, Yifan can't just dump Baekhyun on the bed, so instead he tips them all over. Baekhyun hits the bed on his back and bounces, Yifan already heavy and huge on top of him, long arms and big hands catching him as he falls. Yixing's vines loosen, and Baekhyun is immediately pawing at their clothes. He wants to see them and he wants it _now._

Yixing needs a little help with his clothes, has to re-form his arms before he can get the shirt off. Yifan won't let go of Baekhyun right away, and the way he's laying over them makes getting pants off difficult. But they manage, and Baekhyun sighs happily as he is enveloped in hot skin and caged in by warm, smooth vines. Yixing's smell is filling his head, overpoweringly sweet and absolutely intoxicating.

Yifan pushes his thigh into Baekhyun's cock, grinding into it and making Baekhyun cry out and arch violently from the bed. Yixing is there in the next moment, cuddled into Baekhyun's side, cupping his cheek in his hand and mouthing _is good, Baekhyun?_

“Yes,” Baekhyun gasps, shooting Yixing the best smile he can muster. “It's good, Yixing. Ahhh, fuck, Yifan - ”

Yifan picks up Baekhyun's hand and brings it to his mouth. Very sharp teeth scrape delicately down the inside of his wrist, flooding Baekhyun's body with adrenaline and making him whimper. “You smell _so_ good,” Yifan murmurs, pressing wet kisses to Baekhyun's fingers.

His hips are shifting restlessly, so Baekhyun boldly slides his hand down Yifan's body. He's seen alphas naked before - he's a nurse, shit happens - but he's never been in a sexual situation with one before, and he's so, so curious.

The tips of his fingers find Yifan's slit, and Yifan's breathing goes harsh. It's not wet, not like a woman or an omega in heat, and the skin is very soft. He strokes a little, enjoying how Yifan's big frame shudders.

Something slides over his fingers. Yixing is poking around too, a single vine creeping up and feeling around searchingly. It dips inside, and Baekhyun's fingers follow, finding the smooth, spongey, swollen head of Yifan's cock just inside the sheath.

Baekhyun smiles at Yifan. “Come out and play with us, Alpha,” he purrs.

“Fuck.” Closing his eyes, Yifan blows out a long, steady breath. His lower body twitches under Baekhyun's hand, muscles clenching and relaxing, and his cock slides out.

And out. And out.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Baekhyun breathes. Yifan's cock is a beautiful but _massive_ specimen, a wide base and a tapering, muscular shaft up that flares again into a soft, blunt head. Baekhyun _has_ to touch it, so he does, taking it in hand. His fingers, long though they are, can barely reach around the circumference.

Yifan's shudder is so violent, one of his arms buckles under him, and he half-falls on top of Baekhyun. He is _heavy_ , but Baekhyun welcomes his weight, and the pressure of Yifan's cock pushing into his belly makes him writhe, shifting around until his cock is aligned with Yifan's and thrusting against him. In a few moments, Yifan's hips are rocking in time, friction building between them at an insane rate.

Yixing's vine is trapped between them, which Baekhyun barely notices until another one worms it's way in. Then another, and another, and Baekhyun glances down to find Yixing wide-eyed and shuddering against his shoulder. Does that feel good for him? They know his vines can feel pain, do they feel pleasure too?

Testing the theory, Baekhyun wraps a finger around a curl of vine that has come undone from Yixing's arm and gently tugs it up to his mouth. Rather than just letting the vine explore, Baekhyun sucks on it purposely, lapping gently with his tongue and massaging with his lips. It tastes _amazing,_ especially at the tip, which is slick with sap.

Yixing's entire half-unraveled body shakes, his mouth dropping open in a silent gasp, and Baekhyun's cock jolts. Shit, that's so hot, and Baekhyun suddenly wants nothing more than to bring Yixing pleasure, to see if he's capable of an orgasm or something like it.

Hot breath in his ear precedes sharp teeth against his neck, and Baekhyun moans loudly around the vine in his mouth. Yifan echoes him, and Yixing reaches, a second and then a third vine twining around the one in Baekhyun's mouth until it feels less like a vine and more like a tentacle, thick and strong and fucking into Baekhyun's mouth with a needy determination that makes Baekhyun whine.

“You drive me insane,” Yifan murmurs. Baekhyun glances to the side to see Yifan's face pressed close to his, watching Yixing fucking his mouth with twisted, almost painful-looking need scribbled all over his features. “Fuck, your mouth. Your _hands._ If you were an omega, I'd already be inside you.”

Baekhyun hums, and Yixing pulls back, letting him speak. “Don't let that stop you,” Baekhyun gasps, pressing kisses to Yixing's vines in between words.

“I don't want to hurt you.” Yifan brings a hand up to Baekhyun's mouth, and Baekhyun happily pulls two of his fingers in with his tongue. Again, the acidity of Yifan's skin goes deliciously with the sweetness of Yixing's. “You're not built to take my knot.”

The knot. Baekhyun had almost forgotten. “I want to try,” he murmurs, shifting his body restlessly to push more firmly against Yifan's. His cock feels so heavy, so flushed and sensitive, but Yifan's is so much bigger and firmer, Baekhyun can only dream of what it might feel like inside him.

An open-mouthed, wet kiss presses to his temple. “I won't hurt you,” Yifan says again. “But if you want something inside you, there are other ways I can be of service.”

He sits up. Baekhyun makes a noise of protest as the delicious warm friction on his cock lifts away, and reaches petulantly for Yifan, pouting. Yifan runs his hands down Baekhyun's sides, over his hips and then across the tops of Baekhyun's thighs, drawing a gasp from Baekhyun and coaxing his legs open. He covers Baekhyun's cock with one hand, warm firm engulfing pressure, and the other wraps around his own cock and squeezes tightly, stroking until precome starts to flow.

Restlessly, Baekhyun ruts against Yifan's palm, tugging Yixing closer to his side and stroking a hand down his back. Yixing snuggles close, burying his face in the side of Baekhyun's neck, his leg winding around Baekhyun's thigh and his half-unraveled arm stroking up his chest, down his stomach, around his side all at once. One of his vines reaches for Yifan's cock, the dextrous tip swiping through the precome and bringing it up for Yixing to inspect.

Baekhyun leans up and steals a taste right from Yixing's vine, startling him. Yixing immediately surges up and kisses him, stealing the taste of precome right back again. Chuckling, Baekhyun kisses him thoroughly, glancing to the side and out from under his lashes to watch Yifan watching them and pumping his cock with long, rough strokes and what appears to be a viselike grip.

Yifan's precome tastes different than a human’s, tangier. It's too slick in Baekhyun's mouth, and it makes his tongue buzz. Omegas only self-lubricate during heat and thetas don't at all, so alpha precome evolved lubricating and numbing properties. Baekhyun knows this, he learned it in sex ed like everyone else, but it's one thing to know it and quite another to _taste_ it.

Scooping precome with his fingers, Yifan flashes them a smile and lets his hand drop between Baekhyun's thighs.

“Ahhh.” Baekhyun throws his head back, arching, as strong fingers massage gently against his ass, circling his hole. The precome is so smooth and slick, and it doesn't take long for the numbing effect to take hold, dulling the intensity of the touch. Baekhyun gasps as his ass relaxes outside of his control and Yifan's thick finger gently breaches him.

Yifan sucks in a shuddering breath. “Oh _gods_ you're tight,” he murmurs. Looking down his own body, Baekhyun whimpers. Yifan's arm is wrapped in long, lean muscles and a couple of Yixing's searching vines, disappearing down between Baekhyun's thighs. His hand looks so broad in comparison to Baekhyun's body, and the cock rising up is so huge and hard. There's absolutely no way he could take that cock inside him but Baekhyun wants it, he wants to try so badly, saliva pooling under his tongue and his heart pulsing wildly at the very idea. He can't remember ever feeling this needy before, but he's too turned on to question it much.

“More,” Baekhyun urges. Yifan responds by pushing his finger in up to the knuckle. Baekhyun's cock jerks with the sensation and in the next moment Yixing's hand is sliding down Baekhyun's body and circling his cock. His grip is gentle but his flesh is so firm, his palm ridged with the layers of vines that create it. Baekhyun thrusts into Yixing's alien grip, making a strangled noise. By the third stroke, Yixing's skin is slick with sap, as if he's simply secreting it, and his grip has strengthened. It makes a wet, tight, ribbed channel and Baekhyun's thrusting gets desperate very quickly because holy _shit_ that feels good.

A second finger pushes into his ass, thrusting and scissoring to stretch him. There's no burn thanks to Yifan's precome, just the perfect feeling of being full, being opened. Baekhyun _writhes_.

He only vaguely feels the warm, slithering touch of a few vines unraveling from Yixing's arm and searching down over his thighs, but then Yifan gasps, and Baekhyun looks down, struggling to lift his upper body on his elbows he can see. Two vines are twining around Yifan's cock, stroking and squeezing, pinkish sap dripping from them and coating Yifan's purple-red shaft. Baekhyun gasps himself, a thump of arousal shaking him as Yifan's already huge cock thickens more, veins snaking up the underside and pulsing visibly with his heartbeat.

His eyes fluttering shut, Yifan's entire body rolls, his abdominals contacting to thrust that incredible cock into Yixing's grip. It's so graceful, so powerful, and Baekhyun wants that cock inside him more than he's ever wanted anything in his entire life. He whines and reaches for it.

A vine unwinds from Yixing's upper arm and wraps around his wrist, pulling his hand back. Yixing licks up Baekhyun's neck, his tendril tongue slick with sweet-smelling sap now, and starts to flick at Baekhyun's earlobe as his grip tightens. Vines are pulling his ankles apart, lifting his back up, cradling his head, holding him open and immobile suspended a little ways off the bed. A tiny pulse of apprehensive fear races through Baekhyun, but just as quickly it disappears, replaced with soothing assurance. Yixing doesn't want to hurt him, he's sure of it. Yixing only wants him to feel good.

Baekhyun relaxes, letting Yixing cradle him, watching with hazy arousal as vines snake over Yifan's body as well. The caress of green only serves to highlight the beautiful deep tan of his skin, the bright silver of his loose braid, the size and leanly firm shape of his bare body. Yifan pushes a third finger into Baekhyun's body, and as Baekhyun watches, one of Yixing's tendrils grows down Yifan's arm and slides inside him as well, curling curiously around Yifan's knuckles.

“Harder.” Baekhyun needs it, needs this so badly. “Harder, god, _please._ ”

“Yes,” Yifan breathes, and slams his hand into Baekhyun's body. That should hurt, but it doesn't, it's beautiful, it's _perfect._ Baekhyun moans and writhes, floating safely in Yixing's all-encompassing embrace.

There are more vines finding their way down Yifan's hand and into Baekhyun's ass, twining around each other, thickening. Baekhyun's never been so open, so filled. It gets to the point that Yifan has to untangle himself and pull his hand out, grabbing at his own cock with his face twisted up in desperate need. Right above where his fingers squeeze a death grip around his base, his shaft is starting to bulge. He's beginning to knot.

The noises that fall from Baekhyun's mouth are worshipful and desperate. Fuck, it's huge, it's _huge._ He imagines what it would feel like inside him and suddenly his orgasm seems only a breath away.

Yifan tips forward, leaning over Baekhyun's body and pressing the undersides of their cocks together. Almost immediately, Yixing's vines shift to accommodate, wrapping around them both and tying them tightly together.

Baekhyun has an average-sized cock for a human male, even a little bit above average, but Yifan's is so, _so_ much bigger, so much thicker and harder and hotter. Yixing's grip is so tight, and his sap is everywhere, making everything slick. Baekhyun thrusts, and the immense, impossible perfection of the hot, tight, slick pressure on his cock rips a half-choked scream from his throat.

Yifan pulls back, until the head of Baekhyun's cock hits the fat, spongey head of Yifan's, soft and yielding. Yifan thrusts, and Baekhyun feels every ridge, every vein, every muscle of his inhuman cock rubbing up his shaft, followed immediately by the huge, hard bulge of his knot rolling from Baekhyun's base all the way up to just under his head. Yixing's grip tightens, encircling Yifan's entire shaft and strangling his knot, and with an incredible roar, Yifan comes. It _bathes_ Baekhyun and Yixing in slick, hot come, long powerful stripes covering everything.

Yifan's knot beats like a heart with each pulse of come, throbbing right against the underside of Baekhyun's cock, and Baekhyun loses control completely. He thrusts wildly, chasing orgasm with every muscle in his body and every breath in his lungs.

The vine inside his body curls just so, pressing into Baekhyun's prostate, and just as Yifan's climax shudders to a halt, Baekhyun explodes, adding his own come to the sticky mess covering them all.

Yifan collapses while Baekhyun is still shuddering and screaming through orgasm, but he doesn't land on Baekhyun because Yixing catches him. Cradling vines lower him down to Baekhyun's other side, curling in on his side as soon he touches the bed, his shoulders shaking and his hands reaching for Baekhyun. Vines relax, some pulling back and some remaining to caress Baekhyun's skin, and Baekhyun rolls onto his side, burrowing into Yifan's arms.

Blazing hot lips press shakily to Baekhyun's forehead. Yifan's body temperature is almost scarily high, but Baekhyun welcomes his heat. It helps his knotted up body to unclench post-orgasm.

Warmth of a different kind covers Baekhyun's back, and Baekhyun pulls Yixing's hand over his ribs, intertwining their fingers as Yixing's body re-forms. There's still a rather thick vine tentacle gently rubbing into his ass, but Baekhyun is too loose and strung out to care. Let Yixing continue to fuck him, if he wants to. Baekhyun is sated and ready to sleep.

Which is exactly what he does, rocked gently by Yixing's body and soothed by Yifan's heat and steadily slowing heartbeat.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan wakes up heavily nauseous. He quickly untangles himself from the bed and runs for the bathroom, hitting floor in front of the toilet just in time.

It's rare enough that Yifan is sick, but the mess in the toilet bowl is bright pink. _Violently_ pink. He'd be worried that the vomit was blood-tinged if he was human, but Koharan blood isn't that bright, and it certainly doesn't taste vaguely sweet on the way back up.

It's the color of Yixing's sap. As he cleans up, Yifan's foggy brain starts to get moving.

Images from the night before filter through his mind. He acted like an _animal,_ losing control of his instincts in a way he hasn't since he was adolescent. And Baekhyun - his cock throbs at the memory, but he knows it's unusual for a human to go from completely indifferent to someone's sexual presence to _god take me I need your cock right now_ in a bare few hours. And Yifan hasn't met a human yet who didn't hesitate or outright balk at the sight of his cock, for good reason.

Rinsing his mouth out, Yifan leans on the sink and stares at his reflection in the mirror.

They were drugged last night.

He can't think of another explanation. Not only for their behavior, but moreso for their lack of inhibitions, their too-easy acceptance of anything that happened.

Yifan distinctly remembers looking down and seeing Yixing's body almost completely disassembled, nothing humanoid left except his head and shoulders. The sight should have disturbed him, but he remembers finding it sexy. That alone would be a giveaway that something wasn't right, but the fact that Baekhyun didn't even seem to _notice_ Yixing's form shifting when only a few days ago he'd called Yifan in a panic over the same thing…

Yixing must have done something to them, something that screwed with their hormones, their inhibitions. No wonder his smell was so strong last night.

Groaning, Yifan sinks to the floor with his back to the sink and drops his head into his hands. How will Baekhyun react when he wakes up and realizes what's happened? The memory of it is fantastically sexy, sending fresh shivers of arousal through Yifan's body, but he can't enjoy the memory through his embarrassment at his own actions and his fear that any possibility of a deeper relationship with Baekhyun has just been destroyed.

A small noise makes Yifan look up. Peeking through the doorway is a handsome face that Yifan nearly doesn't recognize.

It's Yixing. And he's _changed._

Patches of what can only be called skin are growing over large chunks of Yixing's now fully-humanoid shape. In particular, his head, neck, shoulders and chest are smoothed over, as are his extremities, his hands and feet. His center is still crafted from woven vines, but they are so tightly packed that they honestly just look like very fibrous and very green muscle.

Yixing sinks to his knees in front of Yifan. His eyes are human, _completely_ human, a heartrendingly beautiful brown just a bit lighter than Baekhyun's. And he has _hair,_ thick and smooth, medium brown with some delicate streaks of pale green, dusty purple and pink woven through.

Fascinated, Yifan reaches up and strokes his hand over Yixing's head. The strands are too thick, not at all the same texture as hair, but smooth and fine enough that the illusion is very convincing. He runs his fingers through them, and then lets his hand trail down Yixing's face, examining his new skin. Again, it's not completely human, it's still a little too smooth and firm to be skin, but it's much softer than before, more supple, warmer. His complexion is a green so pale it appears nearly white, tinged gently in places with the bright pale pink of his sap, like a blush.

He's gorgeous. He's absolutely beautiful, and Yifan has to shake his head in wonder. “You look like something out of my wildest and most unlikely fantasies,” he murmurs. “The question is, was that accidental, or purposeful? Did you somehow figure out what I would find desirable, and mimic it?” He runs his thumb over Yixing's lower lip, smooth and soft and plump now, the skin nearly translucent and the sap that is essentially his blood turning his lips the most inviting pink.

Smooth, warm fingers come up and cup the back of Yifan's hand, holding it against his face. “Yifan,” Yixing says.

Yifan's eyes widen. Yixing's voice is no more than a whisper of a sound, barely there, like wind whistling through grass. But it's _there._ Yixing has a voice.

“Hello, Yixing,” Yifan replies. Yixing smiles, and a precious and all-too-human dimple appears in his cheek. Yifan’s heart melts. “You're a lot more dangerous than you appear, aren't you?” he muses aloud. “Even though I don't think you mean to be.”

Cupping Yifan's face in his hand, Yixing asks, “Yifan, good?” It's so whisper-silent that Yifan pretty much has to read Yixing's lips in order to understand. Yixing looks at the toilet, and then back again.

Yifan shakes his head. “Sick,” he says, over-enunciating it and showing him the hand sign. He wants to ask Yixing outright if it was his doing, but he can't think of a way to word it which Yixing will be able to understand.

“Yifan?”

Baekhyun's voice is weak, groggy. Yifan scrambles to his feet, heart pounding. “I'm here,” he says. “We're here, I mean.”

Stumbling out of bed, Baekhyun leans against the doorway. He's messy-haired and stark naked, beautiful in a much more normal, approachable way than Yixing. “Why are you in here?” he asks, and then he sees Yixing and his eyes widen. “Holy -”

Yixing rises to his feet with simple, smooth grace. “He's learning awfully quickly,” Yifan says, as Yixing greets Baekhyun with a hand on his cheek.

“I can see that,” Baekhyun murmurs, his eyes dropping appraisingly down Yixing's new body. “At this rate, he'll be completely assimilated by the end of the week.”

“Baekhyun, I -” Baekhyun looks up, meeting his gaze with simple curiosity, and Yifan has to swallow before he can go on. “I'm really sorry about last night. There's no excuse for my behavior.”

One eyebrow raises. “There isn't?” Baekhyun asks.

Fuck, what does that mean? “I behaved like an animal,” Yifan says bluntly. “I'm sorry, you deserve better than that.”

The other eyebrow raises to meet the first. “Are you seriously apologizing?” Baekhyun asks, now with laughter in his voice. He tugs Yixing's hand down from his face, intertwining their fingers. “Why? Last night was _awesome._ ”

Yifan blinks. “But. I think. I mean, I'm pretty sure that we weren't… in our right minds.” Baekhyun frowns, so Yifan explains his theory, that Yixing dosed them with something, intentionally or not.

“Oh.” Baekhyun looks thoughtful. “That would explain some things. Like why neither one of us is covered in come.”

“I -” Yifan blinks. “You're right. I didn't even notice. It's all gone.” He runs his hand over his stomach. There's nothing sticky, nothing crusty. His skin is clean. Baekhyun is the same, his paler skin pristine. “Did he soak it up?”

“He did seem awfully interested in making both of us come,” Baekhyun says. He should be horrified or at the very least freaked out, but he just sounds fascinated. Yifan can't blame him. “I mean, think about it. The first time he changed was right after he stuck his vine down my throat. Saliva carries genetic information.”

“But he didn't get enough,” Yifan realizes, picking up the train of thought. “That's why he was able to mimic your body in ways he couldn't have possibly observed through touch alone, but it wasn't enough for him to completely assimilate. Now, he's gotten enough from both of us to create this body.” He gestures at Yixing, who is watching them converse with bright curiosity in his pretty eyes. “Eyeballs. Hair. Skin. He's working on vocal cords, too. I'd bet he's growing organs as well, but whether they're human, Koharan, or something in between is anyone's guess.”

“Could you scan him?” Baekhyun asks. “At the hospital? It might be helpful to know what's going on in there.”

Yifan considers. “I can try,” he says. “He's human looking enough now that getting him into the hospital should be easy enough, if we dress him right. But… Jongdae lives in my lab.”

“Jongdae's all but bedridden and on experimental medication,” Baekhyun reasons. “Is there any harm in just… telling him? Do you trust him?”

It's a good question. “Of all the people I know, Jongdae might be the _best_ person to tell. You're right. It would be easy enough to just explain away anything odd he might say as a side effect of the medication.” He raises his own eyebrow meaningfully. “And among other things, he's a certified KCSL teacher.”

Baekhyun blinks. “Oh. That would be _super_ helpful.” He squeezes Yixing's hand, jostles his shoulder companionably. “Maybe it's time Yixing made a new friend.”

Yifan looks over Baekhyun's shoulder at the time readout in his bedroom and curses. “And on that note, I need to get dressed,” he says.

Baekhyun catches his wrist as he goes past. “Yifan,” he murmurs. “Are _you_ okay with what happened last night?”

Blowing out a breath, Yifan studies Baekhyun's concerned expression. “I would have preferred that my first time with you not have been under the influence of an unknown mind-altering substance,” he admits. “But if you're asking if I regret you allowing me into your bed…” He cups Baekhyun's cheek in his hand, exactly the way Yixing always does. “No. Not at all.”

Baekhyun leans into his touch. “I guess we'll just have to do it the right way next time,” he says.

It's stupid, but Yifan acts before he thinks, leaning down and kissing Baekhyun firmly. Baekhyun stiffens in surprise, but it takes only a bare moment for him to melt, beautifully pliant in Yifan's arms as Yifan tugs him closer.

They break apart with a little gasp. Yixing is watching them from Baekhyun's side, his fingers still entwined with Baekhyun's, smiling fondly. It's such a human expression, and Yifan's heart aches. He can't resist dropping a kiss onto Yixing's forehead, brushing his new hair aside.

Yixing beams at him, cups his cheek. Yifan covers Yixing's hand with his own and smiles back. “Baekhyun will help you find clothes,” he signs. Yixing nods. “I have to run home. When do you go in?”

“Not until later, I have an overnight tonight.”

The fact that Yifan's first thought is _that sucks, that means we can't try again tonight_ is kind of shameful and more than a little telling. He clears his throat. “I'll come back to pick him up, then. You'll be okay?” Baekhyun still hasn't been alone with Yixing since he began to move, but a lot has changed in the past three days.

“I think it'll be fine.” He presses a sweet kiss to Yifan's cheek, and - oh. Yifan's heart might be combusting a tiny bit. “See you soon.”

Swallowing his wildly dancing emotions, Yifan flashes his nicest smile and hurries to go figure out where his clothes ended up.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

It's hard to decide which is more adorable, Yixing wearing Baekhyun's flowiest tunic with a pretty blue sunscarf and goggles, or Yixing practically plastered to the transport window as he watches the outside world flying by.

Turns out the most adorable thing of all is when Yixing meets Jongdae. He has absolutely no idea what to do, but he looks so _delighted_ about it.

“Hi,” Jongdae says, clearly confused by Yixing's presence. “Who are you?”

_Hello,_ Yixing signs.

Jongdae blinks. “Doc?” he asks, looking up at Yifan.

“Yixing needs to undergo some testing,” Yifan says smoothly. “And I thought you might like the company. He's, um. He's not had a lot of social interaction. Ever.”

Intrigued, Jongdae tries to sit up. He struggles, and Yifan is instantly at his side, tilting his bed up and rearranging pillows to get him comfortable. He seems very weak and pale today, holding his arms stiffly and awkwardly, and Yifan makes a mental note to get another blood screen done on him. He can't get Jongdae back on medication until the stuff he had a bad reaction to is completely out of his system, which should be soon, but in the meantime he’s deteriorating and it worries Yifan.

All Koharan mammals are adapted to the radiation, so there aren't even any other options for testing new medications except direct patient trials. Jongdae knew, when he agreed to take part in Yifan's research, that it could mean more suffering, a higher chance of death. He'd said at the time, and would still say to anyone who asked, that it's worth it. That he's willing to take that risk, if it means someday someone else will not have to suffer.

Jongdae is pretty much the bravest person Yifan has ever met.

Yixing is already hovering close, staring at Jongdae curiously. He wants touch, Yifan can see that he does, but every time he reaches out Yifan tugs his hands back.

“I'm Jongdae,” Jongdae says, signing as he goes. Yixing mouths Jongdae's name and mimics the sign. “How do you know Doc?”

Yixing stares and smiles, uncomprehending. Jongdae looks confused, and Yifan sighs.

“Jongdae,” he says, very quietly and seriously. “Can you keep a secret?”

 


	6. Chapter 6

Baekhyun spends the day catching up on chores, cleaning up his home, and resetting his accounts. He can't stop thinking about Yifan and Yixing the entire time, wondering what Yifan is finding in his testing, wondering if Yixing and Jongdae are getting along.

Finally, he can't take it anymore. He heads into work early, stops by the comm department to pick up his new device, and then goes up to the labs.

Yifan is nowhere to be seen, but Yixing is sitting on the bed with Jongdae. They're both smiling, and Jongdae is shaping Yixing's hands with his own, and Baekhyun's heart melts into a gooey puddle somewhere in his stomach.

“Hi guys,” he says as he enters the room. Yixing doesn't look up until Jongdae does, but the moment he sees Baekhyun he bounds over and wraps himself around Baekhyun's shoulders like the clinging vine he is. Laughing, Baekhyun resists kissing his cheek. He's at work, technically. “How's it going?”

_I'm learning lots!_ Yixing signs, with proper word order and grammar and everything.

“That's good,” Baekhyun says, signing along. Yixing's eyes flick between his lips and his hands. “Is Jongdae being good?”

_Jongdae is smart,_ Yixing tells him. _Jongdae teaches good._

“You've learned so much already,” Baekhyun says fondly. “Are you being good?”

Yixing nods, and Jongdae says, “He's crazy intelligent. I've never seen anyone pick up KCSL so fast. The only thing holding him back is not having context for a lot of vocabulary words. I can't teach him the days the week if he doesn't have a concept of how our calendar works, and I can't teach him weather words if he's never experienced weather.”

“He's only existed in this form for three days,” Yifan's familiar voice rumbles. He's coming out of his office, in lab coat and lenses with his hair pinned tightly back, and Baekhyun's heart does a little hop-skip. Now that he knows how much passion and ferocity Yifan buries under his perfectly professional exterior, his pressedness seems mysterious and sexy. Baekhyun can't believe there was ever a time he thought that image was all there was to Yifan.

“So you did tell him,” Baekhyun says.

Yifan nods, and Jongdae laughs. “I didn't believe him at first. Then he asked Yixing to show me.” He shakes his head. “Incredible.”

“Will you be okay here for a minute?” Yifan asks. “I need to talk to Baekhyun in private.” Jongdae nods, and then Yifan is tugging Baekhyun into his office.

As the door shuts behind them, Baekhyun pushes into Yifan's arms and leans up. Yifan stops, his shaded eyes wide through his lenses, and Baekhyun’s stomach drops. Did he misread?

Then, Yifan smiles, and leans down to press a tame, but slow and lingering kiss to Baekhyun's lips. “I actually do have to talk to you,” he murmurs, “but I won't say no to this.” He kisses Baekhyun one more time before pulling away, heading to his console.

Baekhyun follows, licking Yifan's tangy taste off his lips. “What is it?”

“Remember that blood sample I took a few days ago?” Baekhyun nods. “Here. Look at this.”

He pulls up a bloodwork report and points at the radiation count. Baekhyun panics for a hot second - is he poisoned?! - but then he actually reads the number.

He blinks. “That can't be right.”

“That's what I said, but this is the re-test. The number is correct.”

“But that number _isn't possible,_ ” Baekhyun says dumbly. “Even humans who live their entire lives on space stations have some amount of k-radiation damage. There's no such thing as having _none_.”

“Believe me,” Yifan says, “I am aware. Which is why I was hoping you would agree to participate in my research.” Baekhyun blinks at him, surprised. “Either you're somehow immune, or the damage done to your body was somehow reversed. If I can figure out why, it could -”

He stops, frozen in place with his head cocked. In the next moment he's moving, back out to the lab. “Doctor Cho,” he says, very politely. “How can I help you?”

Oh. The head of R&D. Baekhyun peeks around the doorframe, watching as Yifan politely and not at all subtly puts his big frame between his boss and Yixing.

“I'm here because we had a meeting, Doctor Wu,” Dr. Cho is saying, with reproach in his voice. “I expected you in my office an hour ago.”

Yifan stiffens. “I apologize, sir, it completely slipped my mind.”

“I can see that.” Dr. Cho’s gaze flicks to Yixing, who is leaning curiously around Yifan. “Hello, I don't believe we've met.”

_Hello!_ Yixing signs. Dr. Cho raises his eyebrows, but Baekhyun knows he understands sign language; basic proficiency is a first-year requirement for medacadamy.

“Yixing was just visiting,” Yifan says quickly. “As a matter of fact, his nurse was just about to take him back to his room.”

It's an obvious cue. Baekhyun enters the room with his best professional smile, heading straight for Yixing. “Sorry about that, sir!” he says cheerfully. “We'll get out of your way.”

Before anything else can happen, Baekhyun leads Yixing out of the room.

_Is Yifan good?_ Yixing asks, looking uncharacteristically anxious.

“He's good,” Baekhyun assures him, not actually knowing if it's true but not knowing how to explain. The time shows that he has a few minutes before he has to report to his shift, so Baekhyun takes Yixing's hand securely to keep him from wandering off and takes the long way down to the EC.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Dr. Cho, as it turns out, has come to talk about Jongdae's episode. “The board is already not happy about you doing human trials,” he points out, as if Yifan doesn't know that. “They're demanding an explanation.”

“I turned in my report,” Yifan points out.

“They're not satisfied. You've had this program for over a year, with no tangible results.”

Yifan stares. “It might take years before these trials result in a new medication. If at _all._ You know that.”

Dr. Cho sighs. “I do know. And if you weren't testing on a human subject, that wouldn't be an issue. As it stands, though, they're threatening to pull your funding if you don't produce some kind of positive result soon.”

He leaves, and Yifan slumps against the doorframe.

“Sorry, Doc.”

Yifan lifts his eyes to meet Jongdae's. “You heard that, huh?” he asks ruefully.

“You didn't even close the door.” Jongdae shifts on his bed. “Maybe it's time we started the next trial.”

“You haven't fully recovered from that bad reaction,” Yifan protests. “I won't start you on the next iteration until you're stable again.”

Jongdae smiles. “I'm dying, Doc. I'm never gonna be stable. At least this way, my death isn't pointless.”

Shit. Yifan closes his eyes. “Not tonight,” he decides. “Tomorrow, if you feel up to it.” Jongdae nods. He looks tired, so Yifan says, “I'll leave you be for a bit. How's your pain level now? Do you want another shot?”

“I'm okay,” Jongdae assures him. “It was bad this morning, but it's a little better now. Wouldn't mind some of that anti-itch stuff though.” He rubs at his bandaged arms.

So Yifan takes the time to unwrap Jongdae's arms, apply the medicated cream, and re-bandage them.

Late last year, Jongdae’s transport had failed as he was coming back from a business trip in another city. He'd crashed the wasteland between and gotten stranded. With no comm service and his transport an older model without a distress beacon, there was little chance of anyone finding him. He'd had no choice but to walk to civilization, unprotected, for nine hours.

He'd had the foresight to wait until nightfall, which was the only reason he made it at all. But the environmental radiation alone left him with severe burns all over his body. His arms, which had been the least protected, were the worst; the burning was so bad that it had gone necrotic within days and had to be surgically removed, leaving gaping wounds that his damaged systems weren't strong enough to heal.

Jongdae is a hell of a fighter, but there is no coming back from radiation damage like that. His internal organs are deteriorating, at a currently slow but steadily increasing pace, dragging him inexorably towards an ugly, painful death. He has perhaps a year left, maybe less.

“Get some rest,” Yifan says as he finishes. Jongdae flashes a weak, but snarky, salute. Dimming the light, Yifan goes to find Baekhyun and Yixing.

He slows as he reaches the EC. Baekhyun's manning the front desk, and Yixing is nowhere to be seen.

“I thought I smelled you.” Yifan doesn't jump, but he does turn in place, coming face to face with Tao’s smug grin. “Look at you, staring like a stalker. You've got it bad, man.”

A shift in the hormones in the air gets both of their attention. They look at Baekhyun, and find Baekhyun looking back at them with a little smile. His attraction, his simmering arousal, is plainly obvious.

Tao whistles. “Shit, you move fast,” he murmurs, sounding impressed. “Good for you. I hope it works out.”

“Yeah,” Yifan says. “Me too.” He walks away from Tao and up to the front desk. “Hi.”

“Hi yourself,” Baekhyun says. Yifan offers his hand, and to his utter delight, Baekhyun strokes all four fingers between his own, a gesture reserved for one's lovers or closest friends. He hears Tao’s noise of surprise behind him, and ignores it. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. Just hospital politics. Where is…?”

Grinning, Baekhyun points down.

Yifan comes around the back of the desk and looks. Yixing is curled up at Baekhyun's feet with a console in his lap, absorbed in a visual KCSL learning video.

“Adorable. What if you have to handle a patient, though?”

“I was hoping you could take him again,” Baekhyun admits. “People are gonna start asking questions.” His eyes flick over to Tao and back again.

“Sure.” Yifan taps Yixing's shoulder, getting his attention and a bright smile in response. “You won't be home tonight, right? I'll take him to my place, then.”

Baekhyun smiles. “Don't have too much fun without me,” he murmurs.

Shit. Yifan is so far gone. “We'll be good,” he promises softly. “Yixing. Come on.”

He guides Yixing out the door with a hand on his arm, ignoring Tao’s curious expression.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

_bbaek: I'm so sorry, I can't come home today. There was a fire down the street, we're all staying until the patients are stable. I'm just gonna crash here between my shifts._

_Wyfan: Don't worry about us. Do what you have to do._

_Wyfan: Did you eat?_

_bbaek: Yes, dear. :P_

_bbaek: How's Xing?_

_Wyfan: A handful. He keeps asking where you are. I'll be taking him to see JD again in a bit, that should distract him._

_bbaek: Good. I'll try to swing by your office before my next shift, then._

_Wyfan: Only if you feel up to it._

_bbaek: I'll be there, don't worry. I'll want to see you._

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

In the end, Baekhyun can’t go home until midday two days later. In those two days, Yifan spends a lot of time with Yixing, either just the two of them, or with Jongdae as well. He takes Yixing out to walk through the market, he starts to teach him to interact politely with strangers, they kiss sometimes. Yixing tries to push for more a couple of times, but each time, Yifan gently refuses. It feels wrong, without Baekhyun. Yixing never seems offended or sad to be told to stop, he just agrees and they move on to something else.

Yixing’s communication level is already years ahead of what it was. He’s got basic grammar and sentence structure down and his vocabulary is growing exponentially. He rarely attempts to speak, and when he does make a sound it’s still whisper-soft, but his sign language is so fluid and fluent now that it hardly matters.

When he finally gets a message from Baekhyun saying _I’m about to head home,_ Yifan bundles Yixing up in his disguising clothes and leads him down to the EC desk. Baekhyun is waiting for them, leaving last-second instructions for the nurse who will be taking over his shift and looking absolutely dead tired.

Yifan keeps his hand on Yixing’s wrist, signalling him to stay back, to wait. He doesn’t let go until they get out to the parking enclosure, but the moment he does, Yixing practically leaps into Baekhyun’s arms. With a soft _oof_ of surprise, Baekhyun catches him, stiff for only a moment before he relaxes into Yixing’s clingy embrace.

Smiling, Yifan unlocks his transport and waits.

“You smell so good,” Baekhyun murmurs. Feeling his voice vibrate, Yixing pulls back a little and signs, _what?_ For a moment, Baekhyun is clearly confused, not realizing Yixing would pay attention to the fact he was speaking, let alone ask him to repeat himself. He untangles a hand from Yixing’s back. “I said, you smell really good,” he signs.

Yixing grins, and immediately his scent floods the air, breathlessly sweet. Baekhyun buries his face in Yixing’s neck and breathes deep, and the scent of his own arousal begins wafting up. Yifan holds back a shudder.

“Stop that,” Baekhyun says with a smile, lifting his hand to sign it. “Wait till we get home.” Yixing's scent recedes, and Baekhyun looks up at Yifan.

He looks _exhausted,_ but he's still so beautiful. Yifan's breath catches.

Baekhyun untangles from Yixing's embrace and slides into Yifan's, pushing right up against him full-body and burying his face in Yifan's chest. Yifan wraps his arms around Baekhyun's back and hugs him tightly, and Baekhyun just _deflates,_ melting into his embrace with a long, soft sigh. “Ahh, you’re so warm,” Baekhyun mutters. “I missed you, Yifan.”

Yifan’s grin is stupid and giddy, and he doesn’t care. “I missed you too,” he says, and means it. He drops a kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead, his heart thumping when he feels Baekhyun smile against his shirt. “Come on. Let’s get you home.” He tugs, and Baekhyun pulls back only enough for them to walk a few steps, refusing to let go completely until he gets in the transport. Yixing gets in too, immediately plastering himself to Baekhyun’s side.

“Tell me what you’ve been learning,” Baekhyun asks Yixing as they settle, and Yixing immediately launches into it. Yifan can’t turn around to watch his hands, but he hears Baekhyun’s side of the conversation, asking questions, so he can extrapolate what they are talking about.

It’s nice. It feels… domestic. They haven’t had a chance yet to talk about themselves, about Yixing, about whatever it is that they’re doing, but Yifan likes it. It’s been a while since he felt this at home with someone.

Baekhyun’s building isn’t far from the hospital. Yifan parks, automatically scanning the streets nearby with all his senses for possible trouble before he unlocks the transport doors. It’s a habit he’s gotten into anyway, but Baekhyun having just been mugged only two days before has it high on his mind. Things look fine, though, so they get out and head into Baekhyun’s building.

Yifan smells it before he hears it, and hears it before they reach Baekhyun’s door. He stops Baekhyun with a hand on his wrist, holding a finger to his lips. _There’s someone inside,_ he signs urgently. _Listen._

Eyes wide, Baekhyun cocks his head and listens. Multiple voices, one deeper than the other, and by the scents Yifan can tell that there’s at least one Koharan. An alpha. Yifan’s hackles are rising, his instincts raging against an interloper in a place he considers _his._

“Are you kidding me,” Baekhyun mumbles, and punches in his keycode. Yifan forces himself not to hold Baekhyun back - in reality, it’s his house, not Yifan’s, though Yifan’s instincts are convinced otherwise - but he stays close to Baekhyun’s side as the door opens, keeping Yixing hidden behind his larger frame.

There are two people in the main room. Both are tall and lean, both are making themselves at home like they own the place. The slightly smaller one smells like a confusing mix of human and Koharan, but Yifan barely pays him any attention. The taller one is definitely an alpha, and his head snaps up the moment the door opens, recognizing Yifan’s scent, his defensiveness. Deep, fire-orange eyes take in Yifan and Baekhyun in a single sweep, their proximity, Yifan’s protective hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, and the air fills with his anger. Yifan doesn’t need to look at his features to know this alpha doesn’t like the way he’s touching Baekhyun, not one little bit.

“What the hell are you two assholes doing here?” Baekhyun asks.

So he knows them, then. It lessens Yifan’s urge to bowl the alpha over and demand to know what the fuck he’s doing breaking into someone else’s house, but it doesn’t lessen his defensiveness. This is Baekhyun’s _home_. Maybe humans don’t realize what a violation it is to walk in unannounced, but there’s no way this alpha doesn’t know better. He may as well have declared Baekhyun an animal, too far below his notice to treat with respect.

“You haven’t answered your comm in three days,” the strange alpha growls. He sounds too possessive, too protective. Baekhyun’s not his to be protective of, and it raises Yifan’s hackles more.

“So you flew across the wastes to come break into my house? What the _hell,_ Chanyeol.”

“Three! Days!! You could have been dead out here, or hurt, or who knows! What the fuck were we supposed to do?!” The alpha is getting up, stalking forward, and Yifan loses grasp on his control. He steps in front of Baekhyun, drawing himself up to his full height, letting cold warning settle on his features and in his scent. It brings the other alpha up short. “Who the fuck are you, and why does his _bed_ reek like alpha?”

Yifan’s eyes slit, his jaw clenching. “Who the fuck are _you,_ to be in there _smelling his bed?_ ”

“Oh my God, I am too fucking tired to deal with macho alpha _bullshit_ right now. Chanyeol, back off, he had permission to be in there.” Baekhyun puts himself between them, planting a hand in the other alpha’s chest to stop his advance. “Sehun, can you give me a straight answer or something? Please?”

The other person, smaller and thinner than Chanyeol but still considerably taller than Baekhyun, takes a tentative step forward. He’s glancing between the two alphas like he’s not sure which one will lunge first, and now that he’s closer, Yifan can pick out that he is in fact human under the confusing mixture of Koharan scents. It’s odd, for a human to smell so un-human, but Yifan can’t worry about that right now.

“We got the notification that your comm service was cancelled a few days ago,” Sehun explains, sounding like he is taking great pains to seem non-threatening. It’s a smart enough instinct. “It never came back on. We know it’s dangerous here, so when we couldn’t get ahold of you, we…”

“You came and broke into his house while he was at work,” Yifan finishes.

Chanyeol bristles. “It’s not breaking in if he _gave us the code_ ,” he snarls back.

“I gave it to you in case of emergency!” Baekhyun cries, exasperated.

“YOU COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED!! How does that _not_ constitute an emergency?!”

“Don’t you fucking talk to him like that,” Yifan snaps, pushing Baekhyun gently aside to get right into Chanyeol’s face. “You have no _idea_ what the last few days have been like.”

Not missing a beat, Chanyeol pushes right back. He’s big, even for an alpha, but Yifan is just a little bigger. “Listen, fuckhead,” he snarls in Koharan. “I don’t know how you weaseled your way into Baekhyun’s bed, but it doesn’t give you the _right_ to stand between me and him. Back. The fuck. _Off_.”

Yifan’s world goes red. He pulls back and punches Chanyeol right in the jaw, with everything he has.

“Whoa!” Baekhyun yells, as Sehun’s eyes go wide and he reaches to catch Chanyeol as he reels back. He doesn’t hit the ground, which is kind of impressive, and it warns Yifan that he’s probably not going to like it when Chanyeol hits back. He spreads his stance for balance and dares Chanyeol to try it with his eyes.

Snarling, Chanyeol lunges. Yifan raises his arms to deflect the hit, but they don’t make it all the way in front of his body, suddenly yanked back. Yifan stumbles and flinches, but Chanyeol is pulled up short too, halted before he can get to Yifan.

Yixing is between them, his arms stretched out either direction and completely disassembled into vines that wind around limbs, pinning both alphas in place.

Everyone freezes, stunned. Sehun and Chanyeol both have dropped jaws, shocked into stillness, into silence. Slowly, Baekhyun’s face drops into his hands, and he groans.

“So like… I guess I forgot to re-add you guys to my comm contacts after I got my new device. I’m really sorry. But as you can see, it’s been a weird couple of days, so can we all just stop overreacting now?” He peeks out from between his fingers. “Are you gonna behave, or do I ask Yixing to keep you two there until you cool off?”

“Baek -”

“Don’t even try, Yeol. I’ve told you a million times that your temper was gonna get you decked someday. And I don’t appreciate that insinuation that Yifan somehow tricked his way into sleeping with me, either, who the fuck do you think I am?”

That seems to get through, when nothing thus far has. Chanyeol deflates a little, looking sheepish. The scent of his anger begins to retreat, and Yifan takes a deep breath, and makes a conscious effort to let go of his own.

“And _you_.” Baekhyun rounds on Yifan, and Yifan tenses again. “Not that your hyper-protectiveness isn’t cute, and all, but please refrain from attempting to knock my brother’s teeth out in the future. Considering the week I’ve had, he wasn’t entirely wrong to be worried.”

Yifan only hears one word of that, really. “ _Brother?_ ” he asks, confused. “But he’s - ”

“Koharan. Yeah. Chanyeol’s parents adopted Sehun and I when we were teenagers. So, yeah, they’re my brothers.”

“Can we talk about… whatever the fuck is going on here, please?” Sehun asks plaintively. He’s gesturing at Yixing, whose unoccupied vines are waving restlessly through the air, sliding over and around the two alphas’ skin. “Because unless I’ve suddenly gone insane, that’s not possible.”

Baekhyun meets Yifan’s eyes, seemingly asking _what should I do?_ But Yifan can only shrug. Yixing’s exposed himself already, and they’re Baekhyun’s brothers, his family. If he wants to tell them, that has to be his choice.

“Okay. Introductions.” He signs to Yixing, _please put them down._ Yixing does as he is asked with the simple agreeableness with which he does everything. Yifan makes sure to pat his vines as they retreat, just in case Yixing thinks he’s angry at him or something. Sehun's eyes widen as he watches Yixing's arms re-form, pale skin quickly growing to cover the vines, but Chanyeol is too busy glaring at Yifan to notice. “My brothers, Chanyeol and Sehun.” He signs it as well, for Yixing’s benefit. Yixing repeats the names, learning them, both the hand signs and the mouth movements. “Guys, this is Yifan, and _this,_ ” he gestures, “is Yixing. He’s, um, come into our care recently. So to speak.”

“Hello,” Yixing says in his whisper-soft voice, signing along. 

“Okay, sure, but what _is_ he?” Sehun says, as Chanyeol waves a little.

Baekhyun sighs. “We’d better sit down.”

The couch, and Baekhyun’s little home in general, is too small for five people. Baekhyun ends up in the middle of the couch between Yifan and Chanyeol, and Yifan tugs Yixing down at his feet while Sehun perches on the arm of the couch on Chanyeol’s side. Yifan lets Baekhyun do the talking, but he makes a point to keep Baekhyun close against his side, half because he knows Baekhyun is still very tired and half because fuck that Chanyeol guy. Chanyeol clearly doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t say anything, just keeps his eyes on Yifan’s hands as if he’s planning to leap to Baekhyun’s defense the moment Yifan does anything nefarious.

Baekhyun tells them the whole story. From finding the hole in his balcony glass all the way up through the two-day shift he’d just had to endure. It necessitates him telling them all about how he and Yifan met and became close, and the only thing he really skips over is exactly what happened the night they tumbled into bed with Yixing.

Neither of his brothers seem to like this story very much, but they do seem to believe it, which is something, anyway. Jongdae hadn’t believed Yifan, at first. But then, they’ve already seen what Yixing can do.

To Yifan’s surprise, though, the thing that they seem the most upset about isn’t anything to do with Yifan or Yixing. They react most when Baekhyun tells them how he lost his comm.

“You were _mugged?_ ” Chanyeol yelps, sounding about as horrified as Yifan had felt when he found out.

“It happens all the time, Yeol,” Baekhyun says tiredly.

“That doesn’t make it _better!_ Shit, this is why we didn’t want you moving out here by yourself!”

From the way Baekhyun deflates in his arms, Yifan gathers that this is an old argument rehashed. “I moved here because it was the district that needed the most help,” Baekhyun snaps. “I knew what I was walking into. Do you know how much turnover we have in the EC? I’m one of only three nurses who have been there over a year. People can’t fucking take it.” He takes a deep breath. “Yesterday was a perfect example of why I do this. There were a dozen people in critical condition. Humans, Koharans, it doesn’t fucking matter, they needed someone to help them, and if I hadn’t stayed late, there wouldn’t have been enough help to go around.”

His voice is shaking, from emotion and exhaustion, and Yifan instinctively gathers him closer, holding him. “You need to go rest,” he murmurs. “You’ve gotten what, six hours of sleep in the past two days?”

Baekhyun smiles wanly at him. “Four,” he admits.

Shit. “Bed,” Yifan says firmly. “Go nap. I’ll wake you up when there’s food.”

Baekhyun protests, but Chanyeol and Sehun agree with Yifan on that point at least, and eventually he acquiesces. “If you’re gonna do any macho bullshit alpha posturing, keep it down, okay? And don’t break anything.”

He retreats, and Yifan is left, awkwardly, with Baekhyun’s brothers and Yixing.

Sehun breaks the silence first. “So, like… what all can he do?” He gestures to Yixing. “Does he speak? Does he understand me?”

A safe enough topic, so Yifan goes with it. “He can read lips, to some extent, and we’ve been teaching him sign language. Do either of you know it?” Both of them shake their heads. “Okay, well if you want to ask him anything, I can translate. He’s pretty open, assuming he understands the question.” He tugs Yixing up, settling him on the couch between himself and Chanyeol.

It takes a minute for the conversation to get going. Chanyeol’s still watching Yifan unhappily, so Sehun takes the lead, asking Yixing very simple questions at first, then more complex ones. Yifan translates, which gets quite complicated in places and requires his full attention, but he learns some things, things that he never thought to ask Yixing. For one thing, he learns that Yixing has memory from before he took on a human form, before he even began to sprout.

_I remember the nothing,_ Yixing signs, his pretty eyes very wide. _I remember flying past heat and light, bumping into things, changing direction. Before that, I remember the other places, that came before. It always goes like this. A place, a life, and then travel through the nothing to find another place, another life, in another form._

By now, Yixing has all three of their full attention. “How many times?” Chanyeol asks, as Yifan translates the question. “How long ago?”

_So many times,_ Yixing tells them. _Too many to count. I do this over and over, and each time I leave myself behind._

“Can you explain more about leaving yourself behind?” Sehun asks.

_I don’t think I know the words yet,_ Yixing says, looking apologetic about it. _I will try. It is a… circle?_

“A cycle,” Yifan suggests. “A pattern which repeats, over and over, feeding into itself.”

_Yes. A cycle. I begin as a seed. I travel, through the nothing, and search for a new home, a new place to become. In this form, I can… smell life. Feel life. I fly and I fly until I feel life, and then I go towards it, until I stop._

“It sounds like his seed is like a little generation ship,” Chanyeol murmurs. “Flying alone through space for… Gods. Thousands of years, probably.”

_When I stop, I begin to grow. I make myself a shape. If I can find a shape to show me what to become, I do that, if not, I just become something. Each time, I am different. This time, I am this._ He gestures at himself.

Sehun cocks his head. “Do you like this body?”

Yixing watches Yifan’s hands as he translates, and smiles. _I do. There are many things to do with this body. Not many others I have become are this free. And this world is very beautiful._

It tugs on Yifan’s heart, and he pulls Yixing into a swift hug. _YOU are beautiful,_ he signs, staying silent so that the other two won’t understand it. Out loud, and with his hands, he asks, “How long do you stay in a body?”

Yixing looks up at him. _I do not know,_ he signs. _Sometimes it is a long time, and sometimes it is not so long, but eventually I will begin the cycle again. I do not know what happens during that time. I do not know what will become of this body, when I do. Those memories are lost to me._

Yifan’s expression must give away his dismay, because Yixing pats his cheek. _It will not be very soon, I think,_ he assures Yifan. _This body isn’t even complete yet. I still need more knowledge._ His eyes slide over to Sehun and Chanyeol. _May I see you?_

They look startled by the question, confused. Yifan clears his throat. “Yixing, that’s not something you ask someone you just met.”

_Why not? You allowed me to see you, and Baekhyun did as well. I only wish to learn._

“What is he talking about?”

“He, um, he does this thing.” There’s no way to explain it that doesn’t sound bad, so Yifan just forges ahead. “He’s asking if you’ll take your clothes off and allow him to look at your bodies. It’s how he learns what to become. Well… one of the ways.”

Sehun makes a face, but Chanyeol looks intrigued. “He just looks?”

“And touches. And probably more than that, if you allow him to, but he’ll stop if you tell him to stop. The hand sign looks like this.” He demonstrates the sign for _stop._ “You considering it?”

Chanyeol looks Yixing over. Funny, how Yifan doesn’t feel the same need to protect Yixing from Chanyeol’s eyes that he felt with Baekhyun. Yixing can more than take care of himself; if anyone is gonna need protection, it’s Chanyeol. “It’s strictly educational, right?”

Yifan holds back a snort. “Sure.” He gets up. “I’ll just go over there and throw together some food. Yell if you need me.”

There isn’t anywhere for him to go that’s actually _outside_ of the room, but Yifan puts his back to the couch and busies himself cooking. He quickly realizes he’s made a mistake, but he doesn’t turn back around, not even when he starts to hear noises, when the heady scent of alpha arousal begins to fill the air. He can’t stop them now, not without invading Chanyeol’s privacy.

He can’t exactly blame the guy, though. Yixing can be hard to resist.

A footstep has him almost turning, but he stops himself in time. It’s Sehun, whose awkward smile tells Yifan everything he needs to know. Sehun’s not interested in watching his adopted brother get seduced by a plant alien. “Need a hand?” he asks.

“Can you chop this?” Yifan requests, mostly just to give him something to do.

They talk quietly while they cook. Sehun’s much easier to get along with than Chanyeol is, much less prickly, if a little shy. They talk about themselves, their jobs, their lives. Sehun has just left a relationship with an alpha, which is part of why Chanyeol was so quick to jump on Yifan, he confides in a very soft voice. The breakup was clearly painful, but Yifan doesn’t pry.

Yifan smells come hitting the air just as dinner is almost ready. Chanyeol manages to stay quiet, mostly, but his pheromones, and Yixing’s gently sweet scent, have Yifan ready to fight something, or fuck something, or both. He has to lean on the counter for a moment and breathe, getting himself back under control.

“Sorry,” Sehun says, sounding embarrassed. “I’m really sorry. We’re making the absolute worst impression.”

“It’s fine.” Yifan shakes his head. “Believe me when I say, I understand the effect Yixing can have on a person. And it’s not like… He doesn’t mean anything by it, you know? I really think it’s just his way of making friends.” Yixing had asked the same thing of Jongdae a few days ago, but while Jongdae was busy cackling so hard he started coughing, Yifan had explained that Jongdae was very sick and couldn’t be touched much. Yixing hadn’t seemed bothered - like anything else, he just accepted it and moved on.

“Oh,” Chanyeol says suddenly. “He’s - Hey, Yifan, what is he doing?”

Yifan cocks his hip against the counter. “I’m not going to _look_ , Chanyeol.”

“He’s, uh… Soaking up the… the stuff? With his… vines, I guess?”

Ah. “Yeah, we think he uses the genetic information in come to help build his new form,” Yifan says. “Let me know when you’re decent again and we’ll eat.”

“Shit, man, after that I feel like I’ll _never_ be decent again.” Yifan snorts and busies himself plating the food. He’s almost done when Chanyeol ambles into his vision, shirtless and looking much more relaxed, with Yixing clinging happily to his side. “Smells good.”

Yifan hands him a plate, and meets his eyes. His expression is much more open, now. “You guys gonna be okay out here?” he asks. “I’m gonna take this to Baek.”

Sehun nods, but Chanyeol puts his hand on Yifan’s arm, wrapping long fingers around Yifan’s wrist. “It isn’t really my business,” he says quietly, “but Baekhyun’s my brother. Do _not_ hurt him.”

“I plan to do my utmost not to,” Yifan tells him solemnly. He pulls his arm gently from Chanyeol’s grip. “Make yourselves at home, guys. I believe there are extra pillows in the closet.”

He gestures to Yixing, and heads to the bedroom.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

The sound of his brothers calling each other names is so familiar, for a moment Baekhyun thinks he's back home. He opens his eyes, expecting to see the bright blue walls of his childhood bedroom.

The walls are beige, not blue, and the bed is too big for the size of the room, and there's blazingly red Koharan sunlight filtering through the shaded glass of the balcony, and Baekhyun remembers. His brothers came because he didn't answer their messages and they were worried.

Sitting up, Baekhyun runs a hand through his disaster hair and struggles to recall the night before. He was so exhausted, but he remembers Yifan bringing him food, and Yixing wrapping around him and clinging, practically holding Baekhyun upright as he ate. He vaguely remembers lying back down between them, cuddled under Yifan's chin with Yixing against his back like a gently shifting blanket.

Are they out there, as well? Baekhyun doesn't hear them but Yifan is a pretty quiet guy and Yixing is all but silent.

Well, it can wait another few minutes. Baekhyun is gross - he needs to bathe.

One very hot shower later, Baekhyun feels much more cheerful and alert and _human,_ and throws on the first clothes that come to hand to go out into his living space. Sure enough, Chanyeol and Sehun are on his couch, making use of the games subscription he rarely uses himself. Judging by the blankets and pillows strewn about, they must have had a lovely little sleepover out here. Just like when they were kids.

Chanyeol's head pops up the moment to door opens. “Baek! You're up! And you only slept for -” He glances at the time readout. “Eleven hours! Good on you.”

Without a word, Baekhyun scoops up a pillow, straddles Chanyeol's lap, and shoves the pillow into Chanyeol's face. Chanyeol's laughter is muffled, and he pretends to struggle for a few seconds before rolling Baekhyun off him easily, plopping him between them on the couch. Sehun's arms come around his shoulders, and Baekhyun sighs and relaxes into his side.

Growing up in a human household in an all-human settlement, Baekhyun would never have cuddled his brother like this. But then he'd wanted to go to medacadamy, and the prestigious and expensive secondary school that would get him admitted was on the other side of the continent, and the best way to mitigate the costs was to live with an adopted host family.

His outlook has changed a lot since the Parks took him in. His second family was no less his family, and Chanyeol and Sehun no less his brothers than Baekbeom. They were just snugglier, being Koharan-raised and thus having absolutely no sense of personal space.

It was one reason he didn't think Yifan was interested, before. He's never met another Koharan who made such an effort to keep their hands to themselves. But the way Yifan held him last night was hardly _uninterested._

Baekhyun sighs, just a tiny, practically soundless sigh, but Chanyeol eyes him. “I don't want to know what you're thinking about, do I?” he mutters ruefully.

“Get your nose out of my business,” Baekhyun shoots back, without heat.

“Is it the alpha? Or is it the alien? Because if it's the alien, I am right there with you, bro.”

Baekhyun stares at him. “What. What are you…” He takes in Chanyeol's expression and blinks. “You _didn't._ ”

Sehun coughs. Baekhyun whirls, expecting to see confirmation on his face, but it's worse than just confirmation. Sehun's face is bright red, and he can't look Baekhyun in the eye, and, just, _no._

“ _Both_ of you?” Baekhyun asks in disbelief.

“Not at the _same time!_ ” Sehun quickly assures him, as Chanyeol cracks up. “Yixing asked Chanyeol straight up, right after you went to bed. Before we ate, even.”

“And you?”

Sehun still won't look at him. “He snuck up on me later,” he admits. “Woke me up in the middle of the night. I couldn't understand his signs, but, uh, he made it clear what he was asking.” Sehun shrugs. “I was curious, you know? Yifan's right, though, it's pretty obvious he doesn't mean anything by it. Just being friendly.”

“Oh yeah, the way you were whimpering was real friendly,” Chanyeol mutters, but for his own peace of mind Baekhyun ignores him.

“Where are they, anyway?” Baekhyun asks. “Well, I assume Yifan is at work, but did he take Yixing with him?”

“Yeah. Something about his lesson?” Ah. He’s taken Yixing to see Jongdae again, then. “Said to tell you he’d call you later.” Chanyeol shifts, throwing his stupidly long legs over Baekhyun's lap, feet propped up in Sehun's. Sehun makes a face and pushes his feet away a little. “You have the day off, right?”

“Yeah. Don't have to go back in until tomorrow afternoon.” A day and a half off sounds like heaven right now. “When do you guys have to go back?”

“Tonight,” Sehun says. “So we're all yours, today.”

Baekhyun tried to cover his grin, and fails. “Awww, darn.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

A day with his stupid brothers is exactly what Baekhyun needs. They screw around doing nothing all day, just laughing and eating and talking.

Baekhyun tells them all about his life. He hasn’t seen them in close to a year, not since he last went home for the holidays, and though they call each other all the time, there’s so many little things they need to catch up on. In return, they tell him about their lives, about Sehun’s schooling and Chanyeol’s caseload and their parents’ latest silly argument, about the people back home that Baekhyun doesn’t really have time to keep up with, anymore.

They also talk about Yixing. It’s impossible not to, really. Sehun and Chanyeol are full of questions, and they also talk about what they learned last night.

“I never even thought to ask Yixing what he remembered from before,” Baekhyun says. “I just assumed he didn’t remember anything. That’s crazy.”

“It would imply that he’s been alive for millenia,” Sehun points out. “Unless his seed pod thing is capable of faster-than-light travel somehow. Even so, can you imagine? A lifespan that long, and such a huge percentage of it is spent dormant and completely alone, but aware enough to steer. No wonder he’s so clingy.”

Baekhyun's just beginning to think about dinner - maybe all of them could go out? It would be fun to take Yixing to a restaurant - when his new comm rings. Praying it's not the hospital calling him in for an emergency shift, Baekhyun answers.

It's not the hospital. It's Yifan. “So it turns out we're idiots,” he says.

Baekhyun blinks. “How do you mean?”

“We thought it was something about you that made your blood test come up so clean. It's not. It's Yixing.”

His voice is hushed, but he sounds as excited as Baekhyun has ever heard him, and his excitement is contagious. “Wait, really? How do you know?”

“I just got Jongdae's last blood test back. His radiation levels have dropped by a _third_ , Baek.”

That makes Baekhyun sit up straight. “ _What?_ ”

“Right?! There's no way it could be the new drug I just started him on, this blood sample was taken before that. The only thing that's changed, that you both have in common, is Yixing.” He sounds like he's about to jump out of his skin. “Think about the implications of that! Actually, don't, it's bad enough I am. Listen, this changes everything. I'm dropping my current line of research immediately; I have to study this and see if there a way we can artificially replicate the effect.” His tone softens. “Can you come get Yixing for a bit so I can talk to Jongdae privately? He has the right to know how this could affect him.”

A wave of affection washes over the ball of excitement in Baekhyun's stomach, blanketed in respect. He knows this represents everything Yifan has been working towards for years. It must be _killing_ him to take this slow.

“Sure,” he agrees. “We can take him out somewhere for a while.”

“Baek? Can you… I hate to ask this, but could you refrain from telling your brothers yet? Or _anyone_. If the wrong person heard this…”

Oh. Baekhyun hadn't even thought of that. “Yeah, I understand,” he murmurs. “Be there soon.” He ends the call and looks up at his brothers, who are watching him curiously. “Can we go pick Yixing up? Yifan needs to do doctory things.”

This, of course, results in them spending the entire ride to the hospital teasing Baekhyun for having a doctor boyfriend. He takes the ribbing with good humor, just glad that they're not asking questions about why Baekhyun seemed so excited on the phone. Apparently his humor isn't quite up to snuff, though, because as they pull into the parking enclosure, Sehun gives him a look. “Are we out of line?” he asks.

Baekhyun smiles and elbows him. “Nah. It's just… I don't know if he really is my boyfriend. We’re _something,_ but we haven't had the chance to discuss _what,_ yet. Things have been too crazy.”

“Ah.” They pile out of the transport. “Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow's his day off, so I'm hoping tonight we can talk.”

They go in through the EC, because it's the door that Baekhyun's got access to. Tao's working the front desk again, and he double-takes, and Baekhyun suddenly realizes what this might look like, might _smell_ like, to a Koharan. Cross-race adoption is still rare; no one ever guesses the three of them are family until they are told.

He heads off that drama immediately with a quick detour past the desk to introduce his brothers. Tao’s greeting to Chanyeol is more respectful than his usual - though technically speaking the idea that alphas are somehow above the other two genders is considered archaic, society still hasn't quite let go of the social conventions that result - but to Sehun, his greeting is more casual, even flirty. His smile is very sharp, and the stroke of his finger up Sehun's is slower than it needs to be. Chanyeol bristles, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes and drags then both away.

“Are _all_ of the staff here young, hot Koharans?” Sehun hisses as soon as they're out of earshot.

“Of course not, and Tao is taken, so whatever you're thinking, stop it,” Baekhyun murmurs. “Come on.”

Up in the lab, they find Yixing sitting on Jongdae's bed and happily conversing, and Yifan back in his office with his face in a microscope. Baekhyun steps up next to him and slides a hand over his back, knowing full well he’s heard them coming and the touch isn't going to startle him.

Yifan hums and arches his back a little, pushing into his hand. “Hi,” he murmurs, reaching out his own without looking up.

Baekhyun takes his hand, and nearly entwines their fingers before he remembers what that means, to a Koharan. Instead, he slides his fingers around the side of Yifan’s hand. They’re _something,_ but they aren’t _mates_. “Hi yourself. See anything interesting?”

“Oh, lots. Haven’t figured out how Yixing’s healing radiation damage yet, but I’ll get there.” He looks up, his purple eyes rapidly dilating as they focus on Baekhyun. “How is it that I am consistently surprised by how gorgeous you are?”

It feels like a non-sequitur, and it catches Baekhyun off-guard. He laughs, flushing hot red.

Yifan smiles, and it’s just a little too toothy. “If I wasn’t pretty sure your brother was out there snooping on us, I would - ”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Yifan!” Chanyeol calls from the other room.

Yifan grins, as if to say, _see?_

Laughing, Baekhyun gives Yifan a playful shove. “You’re at _work,_ Doctor Wu,” he admonishes. “Save it for later.” Yifan squeezes his hand, and Baekhyun can’t resist stepping closer. Shit, Yifan is so damn _tall_. “You _are_ coming over again tonight, right?”

“I thought maybe we could go to my place, for a change?” Yifan shrugs. “If you want to. After your family leaves, of course.”

He seems kind of nervous, and it’s cute. “Sure,” Baekhyun says, leaning up to press a kiss to the only bit of bare skin he can reach, the side of Yifan’s neck, right above the collar of his lab coat. Yifan’s hand tightens on his, and he lets out a very soft, slow breath, the only sign Baekhyun has that the touch affects him. But Baekhyun’s starting to get used to picking up his cues - they’re subtle, but they’re there. “How long do you need us to keep Xing occupied?”

A hand comes to rest on Baekhyun’s waist as Yifan tugs him closer. “An hour or so should be fine,” Yifan murmurs, his lips brushing softly against Baekhyun’s forehead. He’s _warm_ and Baekhyun sighs happily. “Meet me back here?”

“Okay,” Baekhyun says, and meets Yifan’s kiss halfway. This is still new enough that his insides do the thumpy-fluttery thing - and yes, that is the correct medical terminology.

They come out of the office to find Yixing cuddled happily into Sehun's side and Chanyeol sitting on the bed next to Jongdae's hip. Baekhyun feels Yifan tense up beside him, but he quickly forces himself to relax, which Baekhyun appreciates. Yifan doesn't know that Chanyeol prefers to sit when he's talking to a human, especially a new acquaintance; he knows his size can make people uncomfortable.

“Got any suggestions for where we should take Yixing?” Baekhyun asks cheerfully, as the plant in question detaches from Sehun's side to cling to his.

“What about the park behind the hospital?” Jongdae suggests. “He was telling me he wants to spend more time outside.”

Baekhyun blinks. Jongdae already sounds stronger, his eyes more alert, than any time Baekhyun has seen him. Nervous hope wells up; Baekhyun swallows it down. “Yeah, good idea,” he agrees. “Come on, guys.”

Getting up, Chanyeol reaches out for a greeting gesture. “Nice to meet you, Jongdae,” he says, as Jongdae gently trails a finger up his own. “Maybe we’ll see you again later.”

Jongdae’s smile crinkles his eyes at the corners. “I’ll be here,” he says.

The park isn't far, so rather than go get the transport again, they just walk. It isn't a big space, just an open field planted with short, spiky red Koharan grass, with some playground equipment in the corner and a path around the outside covered by shade structures. Nevertheless, it's the only bit of nature in the district, the only place for blocks that isn't completely paved over.

It's immediately clear that Yixing likes the place. He breaks away from Baekhyun and runs out into the open, flopping down on his back on the grass. Baekhyun starts to run after him, but stops when he feels the burning heat of the setting sun hit his skin, out of instinct.

Then, he remembers that his body is as clear of radiation as a newborn's, and _why,_ and he starts moving again, running to Yixing's side despite his brothers’ alarmed calls. He drops to his knees, and Yixing reaches for him, and Baekhyun ends up flopped on his stomach, half on top of Yixing.

Yixing squeezes him, grinning. Baekhyun taps his nose fondly and glances at the radiation counter on his wrist. Held this close to Yixing's body, the number is the lowest Baekhyun has ever seen, indoors or out.

Baekhyun's good mood sobers. Yixing is basically a walking radiation shield, on top of being a straight-out cure for radiation poisoning. But there's only one of him, and he's a living being. What would happen if the general public found out? He would immediately become the most desirable commodity in the world, and the consequences of that...

Baekhyun curls on top of Yixing protectively. He doesn't want to think about it.

Heavy thunking sounds as Chanyeol and Sehun plop down the ground next to them. “It's too hot for this,” Sehun grumbles as he tugs the hood of his cloak up more firmly around his face.

“Yixing is cool,” Baekhyun points out, moving to the side so Sehun can take his place. It occurs to him that he should see to it Sehun gets as much exposure to Yixing as possible - it could literally add years to his life.

“Oooh.” Sehun lays his cheek on Yixing's shoulder, nosing into his neck. Yixing twitches but pulls Sehun closer, allowing him to press his overheated skin to Yixing's, cooler and crisper. “You're right, he is. This feels nice.” He rolls, pulling Yixing on top of him.

Yixing, for his own part, seems perfectly content to be half atop Sehun's lanky form. _This place is nice,_ he signs. _Why aren't there more places like this?_

Baekhyun tries to figure out how to explain, and in doing so, realizes that Yixing probably doesn't even realize the radiation exists. So he does his best to explain. “The sun gives heat and light, yes? But it also gives off something else, something you can't see or feel.” He blinks. “Well, _we_ can't see or feel it. I don't know if you can.”

Yixing cocks his head. _What is it?_ he asks, signing with one hand and curling the other around the back of Sehun's neck.

“It's called radiation,” Baekhyun says, signing slowly and clearly so Yixing can learn the new word. “It comes out of the sun and soaks into everything it touches.” He's not sure how else to explain it.

_Oh. I think I understand. I can't see this thing but I can…_ He pauses and thinks for a moment. _Taste it?_

Not surprising. Chanyeol is watching them curiously, but Baekhyun doesn't start translating. He loves his brothers, but he just can’t risk too many people knowing about this. _Do you consume it?_ he asks, no longer using his voice at all, only signing. _Like we eat food and drink water? Does it nourish you?_

_Yes!_ Yixing smiles, deceptively human looking. _It is good. It makes me feel bright and strong._

_I'm glad,_ Baekhyun tells him. _It is not good for me. Humans like me, this radiation makes us sick if we get too much._ The smile drops off Yixing's face, replaced with concern. _That's what happened to Jongdae, Yixing. He got too much radiation and it made him sick._

_That's not good,_ Yixing signs. _You said humans like you? What about Koharans? They have this in them too, I can taste it. Everything on this planet does._

_Koharans can process radiation. It doesn't hurt them as easily. But humans aren't from this planet. We're not made to withstand it._ Baekhyun tugs on his cloak. _That's why Sehun and I wear these, but Chanyeol doesn't have to. And that's why there aren't a lot of places like this park. Too many people are too scared to be outside for very long._

Yixing pulls Sehun a little closer, looking thoughtful.

“Woop.” Baekhyun looks up just in time to see Chanyeol catch a ball before it careens into Baekhyun's head. “Careful with that!”

He stands to take it back from whence it came, and Baekhyun looks. There's a group of Koharan children playing on the other side of the field. The tallest kid takes the ball from him, but the others are watching Chanyeol with something like awe. Not surprisingly so - compared to these children, Chanyeol must seem like a giant.

Somehow, this results in all of them - including Yixing - getting roped into playing ball with the kids. Baekhyun groans and prepares himself to attempt to explain how to play in sign language, but it turns out he doesn't have to. Yixing signs _what do I do?,_ but before Baekhyun can even answer, the smallest, shyest child surprises everyone by signing back. _I can show you._

Baekhyun has to hold his emotions back as he watches the child very earnestly explain the rules, chubby fingers forming signs faster than Baekhyun ever could. Yixing treats the kid the same way he would anyone else, paying close attention and asking dozens of questions. 

The kids end up putting Chanyeol and Yixing on one team and Sehun and Baekhyun on the other, and they explain their own yard rules, which are of course crazy complicated and make no sense, and they play. The game is fast and very silly and the kids run circles around them, sometimes literally, and Baekhyun hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Eventually, the sun sets completely, and one of the kids’ parents calls them away. As they all wave goodbye, Baekhyun slides his hand into Yixing’s, entwining their fingers and enjoying his comparative coolness.

_Baekhyun,_ Yixing signs, keeping his hand close to his body so no one else can see. _They were all Koharan. No humans._

_Yeah,_ Baekhyun agrees. _Human children aren’t allowed to play outside. It’s not safe._

Yixing doesn’t respond to that, but he squeezes Baekhyun’s hand tightly.

They're all considerably messier and sweatier when they get back to the hospital, which earns them some looks, particularly from Tao. Baekhyun ignores him, and pretends he doesn't see Sehun glancing back over his shoulder at Tao as they pass, and ushers them all up the stairs to the labs.

It's impossible to miss the change in Jongdae's attitude. There's a wide grin on his face, a sparkle of gleeful hope in his eyes. Baekhyun has to choke back his reaction, because he knows Jongdae has just found out he could very well get his life back.

He distracts from that by holding his arms out and spinning a circle. “How do I look?” he teases.

“Like you got hit by a caravan,” Jongdae snarks. Chanyeol cracks up.

A hot touch slides down his arm. “Do I want to know?” Yifan asks, quietly amused.

Baekhyun lifts his hand, turning it over to invite the greeting stroke of Yifan's fingers over his own. “Yixing learned to play yardball tonight.”

“I see.”

“Hey, Baek, we should really get going,” Sehun says. “It's a long ride home.” He glances down at Baekhyun and Yifan's hands, and then back up, and his expression would look completely impassive if Baekhyun didn't know him so well.

Some days, Baekhyun really appreciates Sehun.

They say their goodbyes. Chanyeol makes Baekhyun promise to call them every two days at least, and Sehun tells him they're going to try to come visit more often, and they both hug Yixing goodbye and exchange polite greeting gestures with Yifan and Jongdae. And then, they leave.

Baekhyun immediately turns to Jongdae. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Well, he told you, didn't he?”

“Jongdae has decided to withdraw from my program,” Yifan says, “due to his miraculous and unexplained recovery. Or, at least, he _will_.”

“I tried to offer to stay and let Doc test whatever synthesized Xing-drugs he can come up with, but he wouldn't let me.”

“I'm not going to forcibly withhold a treatment we know works,” Yifan argues. “As long as you're aware that we have no idea what other effects long term exposure to Yixing might have, if any. You don't have so much time left that we can afford to gamble with it.” He reaches out and cups Yixing's face fondly. “Besides, I still need to attempt to explain all this to Yixing, and get his consent to study him in depth. And I need to figure out what I'm going to tell Dr. Cho and the Board. Even then, who knows how long it might take me to even figure out how Yixing is doing it, let alone how to replicate it?” He shakes his head. “No. You'll mysteriously get better, and I'll put my patient trials on hold for a while in response.”

“Jongdae will need to spend a lot of time with Yixing then, right?”

“As much as possible, until the radiation is gone from his body.”

Jongdae smiles. “Doc says, in theory, that should allow my system to start healing normally again. I might have some scarring, maybe even some nerve damage, we won't know that for a while. But with the radiation gone, it's no longer a life threatening illness, just a bad injury from which I gotta recover.” His smile widens. “I'll take it.”

Wow. Baekhyun has never heard of anyone making a full recovery from radiation poisoning before. If this works, the impact could be planet-wide.

“Yixing,” Yifan signs, “Jongdae would like you to stay with him tonight. Is that okay?”

_That sounds good,_ Yifan says immediately. _Will you and Baekhyun stay, or leave?_

Yifan looks to Baekhyun for the answer to that. “Do you want us to stay?” Baekhyun asks.

_If you want to. Jongdae is nice._

“Will you be sad if we don't stay?” Baekhyun asks, just to be sure.

Yixing cocks his head, making his brown-green-pink hair fall over one eye. _Sad? Why would I be sad? You will come back, yes?_

“Yes, of course,” Yifan assures him, as Baekhyun nods.

_Then I won't be sad. Jongdae is good to spend time with._

“Damn straight I am,” Jongdae mutters. “We'll be fine, guys. Just a little sleepover.”

Oh. Wait. “Jongdae, Yixing gets, uh. He does this thing. A pheromone thing.”

“I already warned him, Baek,” Yifan says. “He's as informed as I can make him. And since he’s human, he shouldn’t have an adverse reaction to Yixing’s pheromones.”

Wait, what? “What does that mean?” Baekhyun asks.

Yifan cocks his head. “Didn’t Chanyeol tell you? He was sick this morning. Found him sitting on the bathroom floor when I woke up. We figure it must be because we’re Koharan, or maybe because we’re alphas, but you and Sehun didn’t have trouble so Jongdae should be fine.”

Right. Okay. And Yixing hasn't assaulted anyone since he grew limbs. Baekhyun decides it isn't his decision, and just smiles. “Cool,” he says, signing it as well for Yixing’s benefit. “We'll see you tomorrow, then.”

Yixing insists on kissing them both before they leave, which Jongdae fortunately seems to think is cute.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

As he lets Baekhyun into his apartment, Yifan is suddenly self-conscious. He knows it's bigger and nicer than Baekhyun's - does he come across as rich and stuck up? He hopes not.

But all Baekhyun says is, “This is nice,” as he pulls off his outerwear. Then he turns, steps right into Yifan's arms, and quips, “Finally, I have you alone.”

Letting his hands slide down Baekhyun's back, Yifan realizes he's right. It's been such an eventful few days that it seems impossible, but this is the first time they've been completely alone since things changed between them.

Yifan pulls Baekhyun close and kisses him.

Baekhyun makes a pleased noise and pushes up on his toes to deepen the kiss. He's so small in comparison to Yifan, but he feels so strong, so vibrant and energetic. He pushes, and Yifan pushes back, and the kiss quickly ramps up from sweet to heated, and Yifan doesn't think, he just hikes Baekhyun into his arms, lifting him right off the floor.

“Shit,” Baekhyun squeals, immediately clinging to Yifan's neck, locking his ankles around Yifan's waist. “Warn a guy!” Before Yifan can apologize, though, Baekhyun's mouth is back on his own, and then quickly moves across his jawline and down the tendon of his neck. Yifan's entire body shudders, and he falls back against the wall with a groan.

Baekhyun's mouth slides up to his ear. “Yifan,” he murmurs, and damn if it isn't the sexiest his name has ever sounded. “Can I unbraid your hair?”

Oh. Shit. “Yes,” Yifan breathes, throat already dry at the idea of Baekhyun's graceful fingers in his hair. “Careful, there's pins.”

As Baekhyun sets to work, Yifan bends his head, tugging the neckline of Baekhyun's tunic to the side so he can taste Baekhyun's collar and shoulder. There are little freckles there, and Yifan has to kiss every single one, because Koharans don't freckle and he's always found it beautiful that humans do.

Baekhyun's thighs tighten around his waist, compensating as he lets go of Yifan's neck. They're nice, thick, strong thighs, and they feel spectacular under Yifan's roaming hands. Yifan kneads into the flesh and presses his mouth to Baekhyun's shoulder and moans softly as Baekhyun works his hair loose.

“This,” Baekhyun says, “is a _lot_ of hair.” He presses his mouth warm to Yifan's temple and digs his fingers into Yifan's hair, rubbing at his scalp. “Have you _ever_ cut it?”

Yifan hums, his eyes fluttering shut in response to Baekhyun's touch. “I wore it short as a kid,” he says. “First year of medacadamy, I was so busy I forgot to get it cut all year long. Decided I liked it.” Baekhyun works out the last of the pins, and Yifan's hair falls in a silver curtain around his shoulders. He shakes it out a little - it’s so rare for him to wear it down, it feels odd.

“Gorgeous,” Baekhyun murmurs, running the stands through his fingers. “Koharans have such good hair. Lucky.”

“Tao has been trying to get me to dye it for years,” Yifan says with a smile. “He used to dye his crazy colors all the time.” He shifts his grip on Baekhyun's thighs, adjusting.

A smile presses to Yifan's cheek. “You can put me down if you're getting tired,” Baekhyun says. “I know I'm not super light.”

“You're hardly _heavy,_ ” Yifan replies, amused. “I like holding you like this.” Baekhyun doesn't respond, but he hums thoughtfully, his hands sliding down Yifan's tensed arms. “Are you hungry?”

Pulling back a little, Baekhyun flashes him an absolutely _dirty_ look. “Do you have something for me to eat?” he murmurs.

And Yifan was talking about food, but now he has the image of Baekhyun's mouth stretched obscenely wide around his cock in his mind, and said cock is pulsing and trying to fill and it's taking all his willpower to keep it from bursting out from his pants.

Baekhyun chuckles. His hand is over Yifan's chest, and Yifan realizes he can feel his heart racing. “What's for dinner?” he asks, in a much more normal tone of voice.

“I can cook.”

“I'll help.” Baekhyun pushes off from Yifan's chest and hops down. “I know it's an alpha thing to want to take care of people, but I'm not gonna just sit here awkwardly watching you.” He flashes a smile up at Yifan to soften his words, effortlessly handsome.

“Fine,” Yifan agrees, smiling helplessly. “Come on, the kitchen's this way.”

Baekhyun is, by his own admission, not much of a cook, but he follows directions well enough and it is nice to have a second set of hands. Yifan's apartment is really too big for one person, but it's rare that he has guests. It's nice, spending the evening like this, it's… not lonely. Yifan never really considered himself lonely, but having Baekhyun's warm, cheerful presence at his side is making him reassess.

The food is done and they're in the middle of eating when Baekhyun finally brings it up, in a carefully nonchalant tone that makes Yifan think he's been waiting to say it all night. “So, um… What are we?”

His face stays impassive, but inside Yifan feels both giddy and slightly sick. “What do you want us to be?” he asks, keeping his tone neutral.

“Together,” Baekhyun says immediately. Then, he seems to realize how eager he sounds, and blushes, dropping his eyes.

“Together?” Yifan asks softly. “As… partners? Lovers?”

“Well, it's a little early to be talking about being mates,” Baekhyun points out. “I've only known you for about two weeks. But… yes. What do you think? Should we try it?”

Yifan contains his glee. Mostly. “Yes. Yes, I want to try.”

“What about Yixing?”

“Um.” Yifan blinks. “What about him?”

Sighing, Baekhyun leans back in his chair, thoughtfully picking through his bowl. “I don't know, I just. I think we need to consider him? He's kind of the reason we're anything, you know?”

Yifan sits back as well, picking up his water, distractedly thinking how cute Baekhyun is when he eats. “I tried to explain monogamy to Yixing a couple days ago, actually,” he says. “I don't think he understood what I was saying. Not sure if that's because his species is non-monogamous by nature, or if he didn't understand the words I used, or if I just didn't explain it well.”

“Hmmm. Well. I still don't want to leave him out. Assuming he wants to be with us sexually again, are you… Shit, I forgot, nevermind.”

Yifan blinks. “Forgot what?”

“Uh.” Baekhyun looks kind of sheepish. “You're an alpha. You're not gonna want to share me.”

“Baekhyun.” Yifan isn't sure whether to laugh or sigh. “That's a stereotype. Polyamorous alphas do exist.”

Now Baekhyun looks _really_ sheepish. It's cute. “Sorry,” he mutters. “So then I guess my question stands. Are you okay with sharing me?”

“I said they _exist_ , not that I was one,” Yifan murmurs. “If we're together, we're _together_. I'll make an exception for Yixing, because he's Yixing and I know he isn’t a threat, but otherwise… will you commit to me?”

Baekhyun's blush is getting redder, but he looks pleased. “Yes. I promise. You're right, being intimate with Yixing is different, because he doesn't attach any romantic or possessive meaning to it. He just wants to be close.” Baekhyun slides his fingers over Yifan's knee and squeezes. “I'm yours. All yours.”

Shit. Heart pounding, Yifan leans over and pours his emotions into a kiss, cupping Baekhyun's pretty face with both hands and pulling him close. Baekhyun tastes like meat and sweet sauce and melts easily into the kiss, so giving, so comfortable.

Yifan pulls back to catch his breath, resting his forehead against Baekhyun's, and Baekhyun grins. “I always wanted a hot alpha boyfriend who could fuck me into next year,” he murmurs.

His hands spasm into Baekhyun's neck, he can't help it. “You're terrible,” he breathes, as Baekhyun chokes and cackles. He carefully soothes Baekhyun's neck with strokes of his hands, internally kicking himself for his lack of control. It's been so long since he was with a human, he's nearly forgotten how bruiseable they are. “And I will not be fucking you until you're ready for it.” Baekhyun pouts. “Don't give me that face! I'm a doctor, I know how badly I could hurt you if we're not careful.” He strokes Baekhyun's cheek. “We'll work up to it. In the meantime, there's plenty we can do.”

Baekhyun's eyelashes flutter a little as he leans into Yifan's touch. “Do you have any suggestions?” he purrs.

“Many,” Yifan says breathlessly. “But you should finish your dinner, first.”

Baekhyun pushes the bowl away and gets in between the table and Yifan, straddling his lap. “I'm done,” he says.

Laughing, Yifan grabs his hips and yanks him closer. “Guess I am too,” he says, and kisses Baekhyun again.

Every time they kiss, Yifan is hyper aware of his teeth, worried that Baekhyun will cut himself. Baekhyun, however, seems to have no such concerns, his tongue skimming lightly over Yifan's teeth to stroke against his own, then just as easily pulling back to lick across Yifan's lips. He bites down, and Yifan flinches, expecting to taste blood. But Baekhyun just rolls Yifan's lip between his blunted teeth, digging in without breaking the skin, and Yifan moans and hauls Baekhyun closer.

Oh, his ass is _fantastic_. Yifan squeezes roughly, kneading his fingers restlessly into firm, round flesh. Humming his appreciation, Baekhyun arches his back, rolling his hips back to press his ass into Yifan's hands. Yifan can't resist sliding his hands up Baekhyun's shirt and then down into his waistband, palming bare skin. The way Baekhyun's ass fills his palms drives him to actually growl under his breath.

“Ohhhkay then,” Baekhyun breathes, half a laugh and half a moan. “Clothing is just in the way anyway.” His fingers skim up under Yifan's tunic, sliding up the divots between Yifan’s long abdominals and tracing out the breadth of Yifan’s chest. Yifan pulls his hands out of Baekhyun’s pants long enough to yank his tunic off over his head, dropping it carelessly to the side. He puts his hands under Baekhyun’s as well, urging him to take it off, and Baekhyun only barely hesitates before he does the same.

Pulling Baekhyun forward so that they are pressed chest-to-chest feels _deliriously_ good. There are so many freckles dusted across his pale shoulders, and the view down the curve of his back to his ass is spectacular, and Yifan gropes undirectedly, no thought other than the need to have as much of his skin in contact with Baekhyun’s as possible.

Baekhyun’s mouth is wet and hot on Yifan’s neck, his hips restlessly shifting, the increasingly filled front of his trousers brushing against Yifan’s stomach. His hands slide across Yifan’s back, soft fingertips and scratchy nails, and then bury into Yifan's hair, rubbing at his scalp and running through the strands. “You haven't shown me around your house yet,” he murmurs teasingly. “I'm particularly interested in your bedroom.”

Yifan mock-gasps. “I have been remiss in my duties as host! Here, let me give you the tour.” He spins Baekhyun on his lap and picks him up with one arm under his knees and the other behind his back, cradling him close as he stands. Baekhyun yips in surprise, flailing and clinging to Yifan's neck.

“You've seen the downstairs,” Yifan says, fighting to keep his tone cheerful and normal and not at all like the anticipation of Baekhyun being in his private space is making it difficult to keep his body under control. Climbing the stairs with his cock throbbing against the inside of his sheath is uncomfortably arousing. “Upstairs there is a guest room, which you are welcome to make use of if you want me to cry, a bathroom, and my room.”

“I can _walk_ , you know.”

“But you like it when I pick you up,” Yifan says. “Don't you?” Suddenly he stops in the middle of the hall, panicking, worried that his nose has deceived him, worried that he's misread Baekhyun's intent. “Shit. Um, I was kidding about the guest room thing.” He wasn't, but that's on him, not Baek. “You don't have to…”

Soft lips press firmly to Yifan's cheek. “Quit freaking out. If you want me in your bedroom, I'm there.”

Yifan's heart thunks so loudly that Baekhyun actually looks down at his chest.

“Whoa, okay, I guess that's a yes.”

Yifan kisses him fervently and kicks the door open. Baekhyun laughs, nuzzling into Yifan's neck as Yifan turns in a slow circle. “My room. Welcome. All the amenities, in particular this bed which cost me a stupid amount of money.”

“It's a nice bed,” Baekhyun comments. “Big.”

“Yeah, well, my feet hang off the bottom of most beds.” Yifan says ruefully, as he lowers Baekhyun to the sheets. “There are disadvantages to being a lumbering giant.”

“You hardly _lumber_.”

“I have been accused of lumbering a few times.” Yifan crawls over Baekhyun's body, enveloping him and burying his face in Baekhyun's neck. “Oh _gods_ you smell good,” he moans.

Blunted teeth tug playfully on his earlobe. “You _feel_ good,” Baekhyun murmurs. “What do you want, babe? Got any requests?”

Babe. Yifan has never been called _babe_ in his life. “I'm supposed to ask you that,” Yifan says, a little petulantly.

“I'm not an omega, Yifan,” Baekhyun says, sounding amused. “I don't need you to pamper me.”

Neither do most omegas Yifan has ever met, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to do it. “Humor me,” he murmurs. “I've been with men, but you've never been with an alpha, right?” He lifts his face, meeting Baekhyun's eyes. “Whatever you want. I'm yours.”

Baekhyun cups his face with both hands and kisses him softly. “You can start by getting naked,” he says.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

There is nothing pressed, nothing prim, nothing proper about Wu Yifan right now. He's stark naked, all golden skin and long, lean muscles and cascading silver hair, and he's crawling up over Baekhyun's body, his shoulders rolling like a great cat. Baekhyun doesn't even think he realizes how predatory he looks; all his attention is on devouring Baekhyun's equally bare body with his eyes.

He's still holding back, though. His cock is still sheathed, though Baekhyun can see now how aroused he is, so swollen that the head is pushing his slit open. Baekhyun wants to spend some time with that cock, really get to know it.

So he hooks his legs around Yifan's and coaxes him into flipping their positions.

Yifan lets him, rolling onto his back and pulling Baekhyun on top of himself. There's no way Baekhyun would be strong enough to force the issue, so he appreciates Yifan's easy acquiescence. There's a lot of alphas who would take that kind of thing as an insult.

After taking a moment to appreciate the artistically disheveled fan of Yifan's hair over the pillows, Baekhyun slides down Yifan's body and settles between long, tight thighs.

“Oh,” Yifan breathes, quickly tugging over some extra pillows to prop up his torso, so he can more easily watch. His eyes are dilated to black, focused laser-like on Baekhyun's face. “Oh gods, _yes_.”

“I haven't even done anything yet,” Baekhyun points out, amused.

“But you're so _gorgeous_ ,” Yifan argues. “You could just like, I don't know, _breathe_ in my general direction and I'll probably start moaning.”

Baekhyun cocks an eyebrow. “Is that so?” He lets his lips part and breathes a slow, warm exhale right over Yifan's slit. Sure enough, Yifan moans helplessly, his thighs twitching and a dribble of precome leaking from the head of his sheathed cock.

“Why are you still holding back?” Baekhyun asks, caressing the head of Yifan's cock with two fingers.

“Mmmgh. Sorry. Habit, I suppose.” Yifan exhales, and Baekhyun pulls back a little, giving Yifan some space as his cock slides out.

If it seemed huge before, it only seems bigger when Baekhyun's looking at it from the underside. Baekhyun curls his legs up under him, getting comfortable on his side. Yifan's knees bend, lifting, and Baekhyun leans his head on Yifan's raised thigh and contemplates the view.

“So now that you're not high on Yixing's pheromones,” Yifan murmurs, “you still think you'd want me to fuck you?”

Baekhyun hums and trails his fingers up the shaft. It's a beautiful cock, honestly. “I'm glad you kept enough sense not to give in to my begging,” he admits. “You're right, this is something I'm going to have to work up to. But it can't be worse than getting fisted, right?” He glances up in time to catch Yifan's eyes widening, and grins. “Medacadamy was a wild time, when I wasn't killing myself studying.”

Yifan shudders. “The human body is an amazing thing,” he murmurs. “Look at you, you're so… _tiny_. The thought of you…” He shudders again, his expression twisting.

His smile widening, Baekhyun curls up tighter, purposely making himself seem smaller. He softens his expression, eyes hooded and lips parted gently, and leans in to press his cheek to the side of Yifan's shaft. The flesh is blazing hot and very firm, the powerful pulse of his heartbeat audible as blood rushes in to engorge the shaft further.

Baekhyun turns his head just a little and presses his mouth to Yifan's shaft, laying a slow, wet, open-mouthed kiss right in the center. He can feel a vein under his tongue throb. Yifan sucks in a harsh breath, and long fingers dig in to Baekhyun's hair.

Baekhyun's always been an oral person. He likes to talk, he likes to eat, he likes to put things in his mouth in general. Right now, Yifan's cock looks and feels like something he would enjoy having in his mouth, so Baekhyun indulges himself, licking sloppily up the shaft and mouthing at the head, sliding his fingers around the base. Yifan's thighs squeeze reflexively, his left leg restlessly tangling around Baekhyun's thighs, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes up to watch Yifan's reaction as he sucks the head of his cock into his mouth.

It's so fat, but soft, conforming to the inside of Baekhyun's mouth and filling it up like a gag. His lips stretch around the very top of Yifan's shaft, already so wide even though this is the narrowest part of his cock. Baekhyun rubs his tongue under the head, enjoying the tangy taste and bouncy texture of the flesh, and Yifan chokes, his entire body rippling as he fights to hold still.

Curious, Baekhyun pushes himself up a little to get a better angle and attempts to swallow more of Yifan's cock. He's able to get the head all the way down his throat, breathing harshly through his nose as the soft flesh completely fills his esophagus, thoroughly enjoying the hardness of the shaft that rests on his tongue and forces his lips to stretch wide. Yifan moans loudly, twitching and shivering with blackened eyes fixed laser-like on Baekhyun's mouth. That's all Baekhyun can take, though, and he pulls back with a gasp, his heart pounding as his lungs suck in oxygen.

“You're going to kill me,” Yifan mutters, his voice at least two octaves too deep. “Fucking _hell_.” He cups Baekhyun's face as Baekhyun rests against his thigh, thumb swiping over Baekhyun's swollen lower lip.

Baekhyun sucks Yifan's thumb into his mouth lazily and massages his fingertips into the column of muscles along the top of Yifan's cock. Alpha cocks are too big and heavy to stand out from the body even when fully erect, so the line of muscle evolved to lift the shaft for insertion. Yifan's is taut at the moment, partially flexed to hold his cock up perpendicular his body, and Baekhyun curiously explores the difference in how the muscle feels in his hand, compared to the firm, blood-filled erectile tissue of the shaft, compared to the fleshy head. He wonders how all those textures would feel inside his body, forcing him inexorably open, and shudders with arousal.

“Come here,” Yifan murmurs, pulling his hand from Baekhyun's mouth and tugging on his shoulders. Baekhyun lets himself be pulled up until he's laid out on Yifan's chest.

Yifan curves his body, planting his feet flat on the bed, and settles Baekhyun more comfortably. He's warm, he's comfortable, and for a second Baekhyun thinks Yifan is done with the sexytimes and just wants to cuddle. Then, Yifan coaxes his legs to spread, positioning him such that he is kneeling around Yifan's hips, and Baekhyun finds himself sitting directly on Yifan's shaft.

“Oh,” Baekhyun gasps, as Yifan's cock flexes and lifts to press a blazing hot line from his perineum to his tailbone. He rolls his hips experimentally and is rewarded with a bolt of pleasure and a rumbling moan that vibrates through Yifan's chest.

“Good?” Yifan asks. He cups Baekhyun's cheek as he says it, and Baekhyun is amused to realize he's picked up Yixing's mannerism.

Baekhyun nods. “It's not quite intercourse, but it'll do,” he says teasingly. He pushes back, rubbing his ass up and down on Yifan's cock in slow strokes. Big hands clutch at his shoulders, and Yifan's mouth drops open with his pleasure, plush lips parted to display wickedly sharp teeth.

Keeping one hand braced on Yifan's chest, Baekhyun lifts the other to Yifan's lips. Yifan immediately cradles Baekhyun's hand in his own, pressing kisses to each of his fingers, hot and wet. The slick pressure sends little lightning bolts down Baekhyun’s arm and towards his cock, which is hard as a rock and thoroughly enjoying rubbing against Yifan’s firm lower abdomen. Baekhyun pushes one finger inside Yifan’s mouth and runs the pad over his sharp teeth, careful not to cut himself.

They stay like that for a few minutes, building friction and pleasure between them at a steady, slow pace, making out and touching each other's mouths and generally just enjoying each other. Eventually, though, Baekhyun's cock starts to feel tight and needy, his arousal reaching that critical breaking point where the need to come overrides the wish to draw out his pleasure. His moaning gets louder, the roll off his hips more emphatic, and he snakes his hand between their bodies to clutch at his own cock.

Almost immediately, Yifan pulls his hand away. “Here,” he murmurs, “let me just -” Strong hands clasp Baekhyun close, and Yifan slides down on the bed and rolls them onto their sides.

They adjust, and end up spooned the bed, Yifan's head on the pillow and Baekhyun's pillowed on Yifan's outstretched arm. Yifan blankets his back in heat, soft lips press to the back of his neck, and Yifan's hands drag his hips back. A huge, precome-slick cock pushes between Baekhyun's thighs, coating the insides in wetness and feeling very much like getting fucked. Baekhyun feels muscles tightening against his skin and moans loudly, shocked at how thick and hard and hot Yifan is.

Yifan pulls back, and then thrusts, sharp and powerful. It rubs Yifan's shaft against everything at once - asshole, perineum, thighs, balls, cock - and Baekhyun cries out, arching to an extreme degree, desperately trying to force his hips back even further. Not that there's anywhere to go, really, he can already feel his ass squishing up against Yifan's hips.

A whispered curse in an esoteric language brushes across Baekhyun's neck, making him shudder. He squeezes his thighs as tightly as he can, bending them up a little to envelop more of Yifan's shaft. Yifan's heartbeat is fast and powerful, thunking against his shoulder blades and between his thighs slightly off-beat from each other.

Holding him in a gently unbreakable grip, Yifan begins fucking his thighs.

Baekhyun is not at all prepared for the intensity of it. There's nothing actually _inside_ his ass, but that hardly seems to matter when Yifan is so huge and strong and rubbing against so much of him at once. His pace is picking up, his _force_ is picking up, and all Baekhyun can do is squeeze and push and ride out the pleasure, his vision blurring.

He hazily focuses on Yifan's hand stretched out on the mattress in front of him, clenching restlessly. Baekhyun reaches out between strokes and pulls Yifan's hand up to his mouth, sucking restlessly on three fingers.

The response is immediate. Yifan _snarls_ , and yanks Baekhyun's hips back, and holds him there. His cock is throbbing wildly, and pressure starts to grow between them, right at the base.

His knot. Fuck. Baekhyun re-adjusts, arching his back even more to get Yifan's swelling knot right where he wants it. He finds exactly the right angle just as Yifan's other hand engulfs his cock, and then it's Baekhyun doing the fucking, riding Yifan's knot desperately as Yifan holds himself statue-still and pants harshly against Baekhyun's neck.

The knot keeps growing, getting bigger and bigger, putting so much pressure on Baekhyun's prostate through his perineum that stars explode behind his eyelids. Orgasm wells up fast, and Baekhyun has the helpless thought that he doesn't want to come yet, he doesn't want this to end, but it's too late. With a strangled shout, Baekhyun comes, all over Yifan's hand.

His body freezes, shaking with the force of his orgasm, and then goes limp. Yifan presses his mouth again to the back of Baekhyun's neck, and hazily Baekhyun can feel his expression twisting up with his own imminent orgasm. Suddenly exhausted but determined not to give up yet, Baekhyun squeezes his thighs together with everything he has and licks sloppily at Yifan's long fingers.

“Fuck, fuck, oh gods,” Yifan gasps, as the pulse of his knot grows frantic. It's honestly incredible to be able to _feel_ his orgasm approaching, and Baekhyun holds his breath as the knot swells to the breaking point. When Yifan comes, it spills messily between Baekhyun's thighs, warming him and making his skin tingle.

Baekhyun exhales, long and slow.

“Mmmmmm.” Yifan's grip shifts, pulling Baekhyun back against him in a close cuddle. Though his cock is still thick and hard between Baekhyun's thighs, his body is relaxed, so Baekhyun relaxes as well. Unthinkingly, he clasps Yifan's hands between his own, interlocking their fingers.

It isn't until he feels Yifan tense that he realizes what he's done. “Sorry,” he says immediately, untangling their hands.

Yifan's fingers chase after his own. “It's okay,” he murmurs, his voice gravelly. “I understand what you mean.” He envelops Baekhyun's hands in his own, stroking his thumb over Baekhyun's skin. “Mm. That was good.”

Baekhyun wiggles his hips a little, grinning as Yifan's grip on him tightens. “It was very good,” he agrees. “Is it too early to sleep? I could go for some sleep.”

Humming contentedly, Yifan rolls forward a little, covering Baekhyun's back like a blanket. “Sleep sounds good,” he agrees. “I hope Jongdae and Yixing are doing alright.”

“Jongdae would call you if there was a problem, right?” Baekhyun reasons.

Yifan rubs his cheek sleepily against Baekhyun's shoulder. “Yeah,” he says. “You're probably right.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Yifan awakens on his own, not because of an alarm, which is luxury enough. He awakens with Baekhyun still fast asleep and gently snoring in his arms, which is a blessing.

He's also stiff from holding the same position all night long, and sticky with dried come, but he overlooks that in favor of watching Baekhyun's sleeping features and contemplating how beautiful he is.

After a few minutes, Baekhyun rolls over and squints one eye open. “You're creeping,” he accuses, his voice cloudy with sleep.

“Sorry,” Yifan murmurs. He smiles, but doesn't stop staring.

After a moment Baekhyun rolls over with a groan. “I should have known you would be ridiculous about this,” he says, but it sounds teasing and he's snuggling back further into Yifan's arms, heedless of the stickiness between them. 

Yifan nuzzles into the back of his neck, breathing in his scent. “I was considering a shower,” he murmurs. “Care to join me?”

A beat, and then Baekhyun rolls back over and regards him blearily. “Twist my arm, why don’tcha.”

A few minutes later they’re in the bathroom, and Baekhyun is turning on the water while Yifan swiftly braids his hair out of the way. He doesn’t feel like dealing with washing it today.

“You do that so fast,” Baekhyun observes, as Yifan rolls his braid up into a tight knot on the back of his head.

“It’s a condition of working for the hospital,” Yifan explains. “I have to be able to report to work within half an hour of receiving a call. My choices were learn to braid it back fast, or chop it off.” He ties the knot off, and gestures grandly at the shower stall. “After you.”

The shower is nice. More than nice, it’s… _romantic_. Baekhyun is very wet and touchable and snuggly, and they giggle stupidly over soap bubbles, and Yifan might be in very deep trouble because he hasn’t felt like this about someone in… maybe ever.

The feeling only gets stronger as the day goes on. As soon as they’re out of the shower, Yifan calls the hospital, but Jongdae assures him that everything is fine, that they had a very good night and he feels better than he has in ages, and that he and Yixing are currently snuggling on the bed and talking about the movie Jongdae decided to show him. Yifan even hears Yixing’s whisper-soft voice saying, “Hi, Yifan!” in the background. He hangs up with a smile, and finds Baekhyun looking up at him with an equally soft smile of his own.

The day is slow and lazy and somehow still goes by too quickly. Yifan can’t keep his hands off of Baekhyun, and Baekhyun doesn’t seem to mind, which has him all but giddy. After the craziness of the past few weeks, a lazy day is something they both need, but too soon it’s evening and Baekhyun has to go in to work.

Yifan drops him off at the hospital and kisses him goodbye while they’re still in the transport, so no one they work with could see. Then, Baekhyun heads in the door, and Yifan watches him go with a ridiculously wistful sigh and an intensely stupid smile on his face. (He knows it’s intensely stupid, because he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror.)

His dazed daydreams are interrupted by his comm ringing. Frowning, Yifan digs it out of his pocket and flips it open. 

It’s Jongdae. Yifan opens his mouth to ask what’s up, but stops himself before he makes a sound, because there’s already voices on the other end, multiple voices.

_“...promise you, Dr. Cho, this isn’t what it looks like!”_

Yifan’s eyes go wide. He scrambles out of the transport.

_“I’m not really sure WHAT that looks like, Mr. Kim, but it’s certainly too dangerous to be in a hospital!”_

Fuck _everything_. Except not Jongdae. Bless Jongdae for having the sense to call Yifan - covertly, it sounds like. 

Yifan hangs up and sprints for the labs.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun walks into the EC and right into a disaster zone.

He should have known, honestly. The last day and a half was so relaxing and nice, he should have known work would be a madhouse. All the EC’s patient rooms are filled and the waiting room is too; the front desk has completely disappeared behind a cluster of people.

Slipping around and through the crowd, Baekhyun manages to get up to the desk, where a very flustered Zitao is trying to keep the crowd calm and handle a mountain of intakes at the same time.

“Baek! Thank fuck.” Tao hurriedly digs through the stack and pulls out a console with an intake form on the screen. “Room 7. They've been waiting half an hour already.”

“What happened?” Baekhyun asks as he takes the console.

“Caravan crash. We've got at least 30 injured.” Tao blinks, and his nostrils flare. “Shit,” he says, lowering his voice. “ _Someone_ had a good day off.”

Reddening, Baekhyun smacks his shoulder with the console and hurries off before Tao can ask questions. The patient in Room 7 is a human woman about the same age as Baekhyun's mother, and Baekhyun pulls on his work demeanor and begins the intake exam.

After his first patient is done, the console automatically directs him to the next in the queue, again and again until finally, three hours later, all of the patients have been taken care of in one way or another. When the queue is empty, Baekhyun heads back to the front desk, figuring that Tao will want a break.

He doesn’t get the chance to ask. Before he can open his mouth, Tao shoots him an exasperated look. “Would you check your damn comm? Yifan’s been trying to get a hold of you for an hour. He called the desk about sixteen times.”

He immediately goes back to whatever he was doing on the console, leaving Baekhyun confused and possibly slightly alarmed. Yifan’s never tried to contact him in the middle of a shift before. Fumbling out his brand-new comm, Baekhyun flips it open.

Sure enough, he has a dozen missed calls from Yifan and a text message.

_Wyfan: call me as soon as you can, we have a problem_

Okay, _now_ he’s alarmed. It has to be Yixing. Baekhyun looks around for a place to hide while he makes the call, just in case Tao wants to listen in or something, but all the examination rooms are in use. 

Before he can figure out what to do, Tao calls him over to the desk with a gesture. There’s a doctor Baekhyun doesn’t immediately recognize there, a Koharan, middle-aged, with yellow eyes and formerly orange hair going pastel peach with age.

“Are you Nurse Byun?” the doctor asks, looking down at him. Being Koharan, he’s tall and imposing, though not as tall as Yifan or Chanyeol or even Tao. “Come with me, please.”

Something about the man’s demeanor makes Baekhyun want to dig his heels in. “I’m sorry, I’m on duty,” he says, polite as can be.

“Not anymore,” the doctor says crisply. “Your relief has been called in. You’re needed elsewhere.”

Wide-eyed, Baekhyun turns to Tao, who nods confirmation of that, and then shrugs, indicating he has no idea what’s going on either. “Baekhyun,” he says pointedly, “I don’t know if you’ve ever met Dr. Lee? He’s the head of Pharmaceuticals.”

Well, that would explain why he goes about ordering other people around, anyway. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Lee,” Baekhyun says sweetly, and very deliberately does not offer his hand for a greeting gesture.

“A pleasure,” Dr. Lee says dryly. “Let’s go.” He guides Baekhyun out of the EC with an insistent hand on his shoulder. 

Baekhyun twists himself out from under Dr. Lee’s touch as soon as they are out of the possible view of patients. “I didn’t know the heads of departments had the authority to change the schedule of other departments’ staff,” he says brightly.

Dr. Lee doesn’t bother to answer him. He just keeps walking.

Falling silent as well, Baekhyun scrambles mentally to guess what this is about. His first, most paranoid guess is that it’s about Yixing, of course, but how would the head of Pharmaceuticals be involved with that?

The other possibility is that Baekhyun’s about to be reprimanded for his relationship with Yifan. Technically speaking, relationships between employees of the hospital are forbidden, and particularly between doctors and nurses. In reality, though, the hospital only really seems to act when the employees are in the same department; Baekhyun knows for a fact others have gotten away with it.

If that was the reason, it should be either Baekhyun’s supervisor or Yifan’s speaking to him. But both of their department heads are human, and Dr. Lee is Koharan. Did he smell Baekhyun’s relationship to Yifan on him, and decide to handle it himself? That would be a huge overstep of his bounds, but apparently he’s a big enough cheese in the hospital to call in a nurse that isn’t even in his department to cover Baekhyun’s shift, and his attitude is certainly arrogant enough.

Dr. Lee shows Baekhyun into an office and closes the door behind him. “Do you know why you're here?”

“No, sir,” Baekhyun says truthfully. Dr. Lee gestures for him to sit, so he sits, opposite the desk.

Rather than go sit in the chair behind the desk, Dr. Lee leans on the desk itself, folding his arms and looking stern. “Your ID has been used to access a certain lab in the R&D department several times over the past few weeks. It's not a lab you have authorization to enter; as a matter fact, you don't have authorization to enter any labs at all. Care to explain what you were doing there?”

Baekhyun blinks, mind and heart racing. Shit. If the question is on the level, then a good lie is all he needs. But if it's really about his relationship with Yifan, a lie is going to get him into even deeper trouble.

And if it's really about Yixing, they might all be fucked.

“I've… become friends with the researcher and the patient in that lab,” he says slowly. It's the truth, in the most innocuous terms he can conceive. “We were introduced by a mutual friend.” He raises an eyebrow. “I only visited them while off duty.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Dr. Lee picks a console up off his desk. “That does not, however, explain these radiation test results, or the fact that the patient in that lab showed marked improvement his own results almost immediately after you began to visit.”

Baekhyun catches himself before his eyes go wide. “I don't believe you have permission to view my test results,” he says, but that is the _least_ of the alarming implications of the statement.

“That is not your concern.”

“Um, yes it is?” Baekhyun's stalling hard, letting his mouth run while his mind frantically tries to figure out what to do. “Just because I'm an employee doesn't mean I lose my patient rights, and as a department head you should _know_ that.”

“Did you or did you not provide an unauthorized treatment to this patient?!” Dr. Lee suddenly snaps.

“What?” Taken aback, Baekhyun reassesses the situation. What does Dr. Lee think happened? What is he getting at?

Baekhyun knows he's on thinly plausible ice here, so he words his response very carefully. “I am a _medical professional_ , sir. I would never knowingly provide a patient with any kind of medication without their doctor's informed consent.”

Dr. Lee narrows his eyes. “Wu knew, you mean.”

“Knew what?” Baekhyun blurts unthinkingly.

“Whatever you did to the patient. To _yourself_. Is it a new medication? Something experimental? Do you have a contact at a competitor?” His slit-pupiled eyes are wide and harried, and suddenly, Baekhyun understands what he thinks, what he's trying to get at.

Much of the hospital’s costs are supported by the development, marketing and sales of drugs created by the Pharmaceuticals department. It's the only really for-profit section of the business; the rest of the hospital benefits from the proceeds. The model comes from a combination of the traditional Earth-style nonprofit hospital and the Koharan for-profit business hospital, and generally works pretty well.

But it means that while most departments are only concerned with helping their patients, Pharmaceuticals is much more concerned with making money. And that's what Dr. Lee thinks he's found - an opportunity to make a _huge_ amount of money.

“We don't know why my radiation score suddenly dropped,” Baekhyun says. “Or why Jongdae's did. Dr. Wu is studying it, but the cause had not yet been found.” There. That's mostly true, and leaves Yixing completely out of it.

Dr. Lee’s pale eyes narrow. “What are you hiding?” he asks, with dead certainty that there is something hidden.

Fuck. He's Koharan. He can probably smell Baekhyun's nerves.

“What do you mean, what am I hiding?” Baekhyun asks, fighting to keep his body and mind unaffected. A deep breath through his nose helps calm his heartbeat; he purposely relaxes his face to help let his flustered blush fade. All tricks he learned long ago for hiding shit from his overprotective Koharan parents, but not a guarantee.

It doesn't seem to deter Dr. Lee, who steps forward to loom imposingly over Baekhyun's seated form. Baekhyun keeps his face unimpressed, though his heartbeat picks up. How crazy is this guy? All of Baekhyun's instincts are screaming at him to get out, but this isn't the wild and he's not prey.

“You know something. You know why the patient got better so abruptly, and you are _obligated_ to tell me if you want to keep your job,” the man hisses. Baekhyun's eyes widen. “Oh, did you forget that clause of your contact? Any medical discoveries you make while employed here are property of the hospital.”

_He's not a medical discovery, he's a living being!_ Baekhyun thinks fiercely. Out loud, he says, “I have not made any medical discoveries.”

Dr. Lee slams his hand on the desk, making Baekhyun jump. “Stop talking in circles!”

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun stands. “Doctor,” he says stiffly, “I am not your subordinate, and even if I was, you would have no right to threaten me. If you suspect I have violated my contract, take it up with my supervisor.”

He moves to leave, but Dr. Lee actually puts himself physically in Baekhyun's way, blocking the path to the door. Baekhyun stares incredulously, stunned by the audacity.

“We aren't done here,” Dr. Lee says.

“Yes,” Baekhyun snaps. “We are.” He slips under Dr. Lee’s arm and out the door.

Any reasonable person would have left it at that, but clearly Dr. Lee is not reasonable. He follows Baekhyun out into the hallway. “Get back here,” he snarls, long strides eating the space between them until he can get in front of Baekhyun and block his path again.

Baekhyun stops, not bothering to try and hide how disturbed he is by this. Dr. Lee is so far out of line that he can't even _see_ the line anymore. “Are you seriously harassing a nurse in a public hallway right now?” he asks.

Dr. Lee takes a second to look around exaggeratedly at the empty hall, and then cocks an eyebrow, as if to say, _no one is here to witness_. “You're in violation of your employment contract, Byun. If you don't tell me what you've discovered right now, you will be out of a job by morning.”

“You don't have the authority to fire me.”

“I don't? You wanna bet on that?”

“Excuse me,” a new voice says. “What exactly is going on here?”

They both look up, and see Yifan's boss Dr. Cho turning the corner and striding down the hallway, with Yifan himself right behind. Baekhyun nearly drops to the ground in relief.

Dr. Lee turns. “Ah, there you are. I was looking for you earlier.”

“Yes, I heard. My apologies, I was busy.” Dr. Cho puts a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. “Please return to your station, Nurse.”

“Ah-ah, he can't go just yet.” All the of them look at Dr. Lee with varying levels of confusion. “Dr. Cho, I have good reason to suspect that this nurse and your researcher are conspiring to withhold a major medical discovery from the hospital.”

Baekhyun braces himself for the questions, but Dr. Cho only cocks his head. “Dr. Wu and Nurse Byun are not withholding anything, sir,” he says. “As a matter of fact, the reason I was not available earlier was because Dr. Wu was explaining the phenomenon they have discovered to me.” Baekhyun's eyes widen, and he looks sharply at Yifan, but Yifan remains expressionless. “It is not a phenomenon which can yet be reproduced, and so as of tonight, I have received permission from the Board to begin a new research project in the secured labs. Dr. Wu will be leading this project, and we were hoping that Nurse Byun would agree to participate.” 

He looks to Baekhyun, but Baekhyun is not agreeing to anything until he knows what he's agreeing to, so he only murmurs, “We can discuss it.”

“This project clearly constitutes a major medical discovery and my department needs to be involved,” Dr. Lee says sharply.

“With all due respect, _sir_ , you have absolutely no idea what the project constitutes.” That's Yifan, speaking up for the first time, volume soft but tone steely. His face is set blankly, but Baekhyun can practically feel how high his hackles are raised. He's _pissed_.

Dr. Lee’s face twists. “Do not talk to _me_ like that, _alpha_.”

Stepping between them, Dr. Cho holds up a placating hand. “Right now, little is known about the phenomenon, and until we have conclusive evidence that the effect is replicable, the details of the project are on a strictly need-to-know basis only. This decision was made by the Board, not me.” He links his hands behind his back. “If, in the future, it is determined that you have a need to know, we will of course contact you immediately. Until then, I must remind you of the confidentiality clause in your own contract, Dr. Lee. Good evening.”

With a hand on Baekhyun's elbow, Dr. Cho leads him away. Yifan follows, but not until after he spends a long moment staring silently at Dr. Lee.

Adrenaline Baekhyun hadn't even noticed coursing through him begins to drain, and he takes a deep breath, shoving shaky hands into his pockets. “That was interesting,” he says mildly, rather proud that his voice doesn't crack.

“It's been an interesting afternoon all around,” Dr. Cho agrees. “Nurse Byun, we do need to talk to you.”

Baekhyun nods. “As long as you're not planning to drag me into an office and interrogate me, that's fine,” he mutters.

Behind him, he hears Yifan snarl protectively. It's soft, under his breath, but for some reason, it pisses Baekhyun off. He's not Yifan's property to be fought over, and he's real fucking interested in how Dr. Lee got his hands on Baekhyun and Jongdae's radiation test results in the first place.

But they're still in public hallways, so Baekhyun sits on his anger, bottling it up.

They reach Dr. Cho’s office, and Yifan closes the door behind him, and Baekhyun rounds on them both. “Alright, seriously, what the heck is going on here?”

Yifan sighs, sounding long-suffering, and Baekhyun nearly snaps at him to stop acting like such a tool before Dr. Cho speaks. “I often check on Yifan's patients when he is off work,” he explains. “This afternoon I went in to check on Jongdae, and found him in what appeared - to me - to be a struggle with an attacker.”

Baekhyun's hand covers his mouth. “Shit.”

Dr. Cho flashes him a tight smile. “Yes. Jongdae was quick to leap to Yixing's defense. _Literally_ , which shocked me. He argued with me for so long that I honestly started to think he’d had another bad reaction to medication. This was when Yifan arrived.” He shook his head. “In any case, I had seen what I had seen, and rather than let me draw my own conclusions, Yifan and Jongdae explained everything.”

Baekhyun fixes Yifan with a look. “Everything, huh?”

“It’s quite apparent that Jongdae's rapid improvement was going to come to someone's attention sooner rather than later,” Dr. Cho says. “You probably are not aware that Yifan is the only researcher in the hospital working with a living human subject, and because of this, the Board has taken a special interest in him and his research. They have already threatened to shut down his program more than once, if results were not produced.”

“No,” Baekhyun says quietly, as an ugly suspicion begins to coalesce in his mind. “I was not aware.”

Yifan frowns at him.

“I was about to go into a meeting with the Board's Committee on Research. I urged Yifan to come with me and present his findings, in very unspecific terms, of course.”

Wait. Fuck. “You told the _Board_?”

“Only that I'd accidentally discovered something that _could_ lead to a new treatment for radiation poisoning,” Yifan said quickly. “That's why I was trying to get ahold of you. We were hoping to play it off like you had some heretofore undiscovered immunity that I was going to try to replicate.”

Baekhyun's chest feels tight. “You wanted to parade me out in front of the Board and lie through your teeth, you mean.”

“Well, it seemed like a better idea than parading Yixing in front of the Board, so, yeah,” Yifan snaps.

“In the end,” Dr. Cho says quickly, “no one was put on parade. We told the Board that we could not reveal the patient's identity due to patient protection laws, and they accepted that.” He sighs and sits down behind his desk. “It took convincing to get them to allow the secured project. It means they will have much less oversight over what Yifan can do, and they already don't trust him.”

“Jongdae and Yixing have already consented to participate,” Yifan says. “Will you?”

Baekhyun eyes him defensively. “Why would you need me?” he asks.

“I need to test for side effects,” Yifan says, over-patient. “Yixing's pheromones obviously have psychological effects, and they leave traces in your system that linger and could build up over time. I'll need to track someone who has prolonged exposure to him.”

Baekhyun blinks. “You didn't tell me that.”

“I only figured it out yesterday.” Yifan sighs and runs a hand over his braid. “Will you participate?”

What can Baekhyun say? “Yes,” he agrees, “as long as it doesn't interfere too much with my own duties.”

“Excellent,” Dr. Cho says. “Now, if you don't mind, I have quite a bit of work to do to get this project running. If you'll excuse me?”

They leave.

“We moved Jongdae and Yixing to the secured labs,” Yifan says as they move out into the hallway. “Come on.”

“I need to get back to my post,” Baekhyun says, even though the thought of seeing Yixing, maybe getting himself a big, clingy hug, really sounds good right about now.

“The last time I called down there, Tao told me another nurse had come to cover your shift,” Yifan says. “Baek, come _on_.”

Pursuing his lips, Baekhyun follows.

The secured labs are in the same wing as the regular research labs, but one floor up. They're bigger, they're blocked off with a security door, and the halls are empty enough that Baekhyun finally blurts out, “So when were you going to tell me?”

Yifan glances back over his shoulder, confused. “Tell you what?”

“That Yixing's pheromones were leaving traces in my system.” Baekhyun lowers his voice, even though there's no one around.

“I told you, I only realized it yesterday.”

“We spent _all night_ together!”

Yifan stops, right in the middle of the hall, and turns. “I was distracted,” he says pointedly. “What's up with you?”

Baekhyun's jaw clenches. “What's up with _me_ ,” he snaps, “is that I was just pulled off a desperately busy shift to get _interrogated_ by some asshole bigwig who _somehow_ got his hands on my blood test results!” Yifan opens his mouth, his eyes wide, but Baekhyun's not done. “And now I find out you've told your _boss_ about Yixing and you're suddenly leading a fucking shiny new research project to figure out how to make a _drug_ out of him! Isn't that _special!_ ”

“Baekhyun.” Yifan's voice is low, his eyes wide and hurt, jolting something painful in Baekhyun's chest. “You don't think… You _can't_ think I did this on _purpose?_ ”

Miserably, Baekhyun crosses his arms and turns away. “I don't know what to think,” he says truthfully. “Fuck, everything's so fucking screwed up. How are we…”

A warm hand lands gently on his shoulder. When Baekhyun doesn't resist, Yifan turns him and envelops him in a tight hug.

“You told me that you trust me,” Yifan says softly. “We're gonna figure this out, we're gonna be okay. Yixing's gonna be okay. We won't let anything happen to him.” Warm lips press to Baekhyun's hair. “Please, Baek, I'm going to need your help so much. Please, trust me.”

Closing his eyes, Baekhyun leans into Yifan's chest and allows himself a long, shuddering sigh.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Seeing Yixing calms Baekhyun down quite a bit. Yifan can't really blame him for it - even with Jongdae there in the lab as well to keep an eye on things, he'd been worried himself. Despite the DNA scanners on the doors, there'd been a chance someone could have broken in while Yifan was distracted with Dr. Lee.

But Yixing and Jongdae are fine, and Yifan busies himself with checking up on Jongdae while Baekhyun wraps Yixing in a huge hug and buries himself there for a long moment.

“How are you feeling?” Yifan asks quietly.

“Better and worse?” Jongdae says. “Breathing is easier, I'm less tired, my mind is more alert. But like… Now that I'm not as foggy, I'm really feeling how much pain I'm in. Especially my arms.” He grins, rueful. “I'm trying to use less painkiller, though. Give me pain over numbness any day, I'm sick of being numb.”

Yifan can only imagine. “Well, your antibody count is the best it's been since I've known you,” he says, turning his console screen so Jongdae can see the results of his most recent round of tests. “All your levels are evening out. I'd like to keep you under observation for another night, but you should start making plans to move out of the hospital. Unless something changes, I'll probably switch you to outpatient care tomorrow.” Jongdae's eyes widen. “Do you… have anywhere to go? Your brother's, maybe?”

“I'm sure Minseok would take me in for a while, yeah,” Jongdae says, “but what should I tell him?”

Yifan has been thinking about that. “The truth, just minus Yixing. Tell him I put you on an experimental treatment that worked far better than I anticipated, and that I'm working now to try and replicate the effect. Make sure you stress that it has to be kept a secret, okay?” He'd thought about instructing Jongdae not to say anything at all, to play it off like a freak occurrence, a miracle. But that would only invite more questions, more attention. They can't afford that.

Jongdae's smile is bright. “You got it, Doc.”

“I'll tell your physical therapist to start concentrating more on your arms,” Yifan says. Jongdae's physical therapist has thus far been focused solely on keeping Jongdae from losing the ability to walk. “Hopefully, now that you're no longer fighting to survive, your body can actually heal.” He pats Jongdae's shoulder and gets up.

Immediately, arms wrap around his waist, and a sweetly floral scent fills his nose. Yifan takes a deep breath and squeezes Yixing tightly.

“All done?” Baekhyun asks. Yifan nods. “I called down to the EC. Things have calmed down and my schedule's been rearranged. Looks like I have tonight off.” He meets Yifan's eyes, his expression unreadable. “Want to bring him to my place?”

Tension drains from Yifan's shoulders. Baekhyun isn't too upset to want Yifan's company. After his outburst in the hall, Yifan had feared he'd undone all their progress from the night before. “Yeah, that sounds perfect,” he says. “My transport is still in the lot.”

They decide they all need a little relaxation, and so they go down to the marketplace for some greasy street food and shopping. Yifan has brought Yixing here before, but not with Baekhyun. Watching them exclaim in sign language over the pretty things for sale melts Yifan's heart.

Baekhyun, as it turns out, loves to shop, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Yifan has to forcibly resist the urge to offer to buy every shiny thing either of them points out, but eventually, something catches Yixing's attention for more than a second or two. It's a pendant, a big, gaudy, but well made thing, shiny stainless steel in the shape of a stylized unicorn's head.

“Do you like this?” Yifan asks, speaking and signing.

Yixing nods. _It reminds me of a previous life,_ he signs. _A form I once took, long ago in a faraway place._ Picking the pendant up, he runs his fingers over it. _That was a good life._

He looks so wistful, Yifan decides it's worth it. He signals to the shopkeep and passes his comm over to pay. “It's yours,” he says.

Yixing blinks, then smiles, bright and beautiful. _You bought this for me? Thank you!_

Yifan kisses him. “You're welcome.” Yixing's pleasure pleases him, his inner protective alpha smug and happy to have been able to provide.

_Jongdae was telling me about money here,_ Yixing says, signing dexterously with one hand while he puts the pendant on with his other. _It's odd to me that this place has no physical money. Most other peoples like holding it in their hands._

Sometimes, Yifan is reminded that Yixing knows more about the universe than any being either humanity or Kohara has ever met, and it twists his brain inside out. “Do you find money to be a universal concept?” he asks as they leave the stall.

_Not completely, but almost. Very few peoples have found a way to get far without it._ He touches the pendant. _These people, they didn't use money. But they were much further advanced than…_ He stops and thinks. _Than any other people I've met, I believe. They taught me much._ Big brown eyes turn up to meet Yifan's. _Jongdae says I should ask to be paid for allowing you to study me. I don't know about that._

Oh. Well, damn, that's a good point. “Jongdae is right. You'll want to make a life for yourself someday, you'll want freedom. You'll need money for that.” And if he's a paid research subject, he'll be on record, and subject to patient protection laws, and it would be much more difficult for someone like Dr. Lee to abuse him.

_But your people don't carry physical money,_ Yixing points out. _I'll need a comm device, I'll need an identity number. How could I get those without revealing myself?_

Before Yifan can think of an answer, Baekhyun comes barreling around the corner, weaving between people to get to them. “Yixing,” he says breathlessly, not even bothering to sign it.

Yifan's ready to throw himself between Baekhyun and whatever's got him worked up, but as it turns out, it's not that kind of worked up. He drags Yixing out into the rain.

The _rain._

_Oh._

Suddenly understanding, Yifan follows them out from under the shelter.

All around them, people - humans in particular - are ducking for cover. Baekhyun is the only human nearby who is actively walking out _into_ the rain, holding Yixing's hand. His face is turned up to the sky and he's grinning like crazy.

_How do you say this?_ Yixing asks.

“It's rain,” Yifan says as he joins them, showing Yixing the sign. “Lots of planets have rain.”

_Yes. I was starting to think this one did not._ Yixing looks around. _The humans are all running, but Baekhyun is not. Because of me?_

“Because of you,” Yifan agrees. He slides his arms around Yixing's waist, resting his chin on Yixing's head and fondly watching Baekhyun indulge. “Rainwater is irradiated, like everything else on Kohara,” he explains, signing while reaching around Yixing's torso, so Yixing can see it. “Humans have to run from it, because too much contact will make them sick.”

Soaked and grinning, Baekhyun turns to them and signs, “I've never been able to just stand in the rain before.”

_Do you like it?_ Yixing asks.

“Yes.” Baekhyun lifts their joined hands and kisses Yixing's knuckles. “Thank you, Yixing.”

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

They're all soaked when they finally make it back to Baekhyun's place. As a rule, Yifan runs too hot to really feel affected by a little dampness, but Baekhyun is shivering, so Yifan fusses over him, running to get warm towels from the bathroom and making him strip out of his wet things right away.

Wrapped up in the towel, Baekhyun's shivers quiet, and he watches with undisguised interest as Yifan also undresses. Yixing clearly decides that this means he should follow suit, removing everything except his new pendant, and soon enough all three of them are lounging naked on the bed.

Curiously, Yifan examines Yixing's body. He's changed again, his body more human than ever before, but apparently he's decided he likes alpha genitalia the best because he's formed himself a slit instead of a human's external cock. His body is absolutely stunning though, lean and perfectly formed, completely covered in smooth, flawless skin that is only a shade or two too green to be natural human skin. Moreover, right now there is a noticeable pink flush to his extremities, and his body seems firmer than before, his skin all but glowing.

“Does the rain make you feel good?” Yifan asks curiously, as Baekhyun settles himself at Yixing's side, wet black hair wild against the pillows and towel low around his waist.

_Yes. I can take moisture from the air, but rain fills me up and makes me strong and happy._ He reaches up and pulls Yifan down on his other side. _You feel so warm!_

Smiling, Yifan rolls up on top of them, making use of his size to blanket them both in heat. The contrast between them makes him shiver - Yixing is cooler but so smooth and firm, and Baekhyun is warmer, softer, his flesh lush and inviting against Yifan's skin.

Both of them respond to him, in different ways. Baekhyun rolls his hips up, nudging Yifan's thigh with his burgeoning erection through the towel, and Yixing wraps all his limbs around Yifan's body, clinging.

“Yifan,” Yixing whispers. Yifan pulls back so he can sign. _I want to touch you tonight, but I don't want to make you sick again._

He's so refreshingly direct. “Are you able to hold your pheromones back?” Yifan asks. “It clouds our minds anyway, I'd rather we be coherent.”

_I think I can hold back my scent. I will try._ He reaches up and kisses Yifan softly.

The difference in his experience is immediately apparent to Yifan. He's been with three new people since the last time they were together like this and obviously, he has learned a _lot_. His kiss is confident and even a little possessive, filled with very clear sexual intent.

He still tastes sweet, though. Yifan pushes for more, ramping up the intensity of the kiss until Yixing starts to make the tiniest little sighing purr noise, felt more than heard. When they finally break apart, Yixing's lips are swollen and bright pink, and his hair is curling restlessly, breaking the illusion that it's dead strands instead of live tendrils of vine. Yifan fondly brushes his fingers through the tendrils, smiling when they reflexively curl around his fingers.

Baekhyun taps Yixing's shoulder, and when he turns to look, pouts. Yixing smiles and pulls him in.

Resting on one elbow, Yifan hovers over them and watches them make out. It's fucking gorgeous, honestly - their contrasts, their passion for each other. The knowledge that he can have either of them, or _both_ of them, makes Yifan smug, and turns him on like little else has. His cock is rapidly hardening as he watches, each flash of tongue and quiet whimper and graceful writhe dragging pulses of arousal through him.

Baekhyun's hand is sliding down Yixing's body, and Yifan pulls back a little so he can see. The sight of long, delicately shaped fingers gently stroking Yixing's new slit makes him shudder, because he knows how good that feels.

Slim fingers dip inside the slit, and dark eyes widen. Baekhyun looks at Yixing in surprise, and Yifan blinks. “What?” he asks.

“Show him,” Baekhyun tells Yixing.

“Okay,” Yixing whispers. His slit widens, and out pushes half a dozen vines, thick and smooth and plumped with the moisture from the rain. They split and slide against Yifan and Baekhyun's bodies, pulling them both close.

“Oh, that's clever,” Yifan mutters. “That's very clever.”

“Fuck.” Baekhyun arches in Yixing's grip. “Clever, nothing, it's _hot_. Think of the possibilities.”

Yifan leans down to kiss Yixing's neck. Yixing shudders against him. “I am,” he murmurs, as a vine slides up his back. “I definitely am.”

Being able to touch them both, at the same time, while still keeping his hands free to sign, must be very convenient. _May I choose how we touch tonight?_ Yixing asks, his eyes innocently wide. I have a wish.

“Why are you so fucking precious,” Baekhyun mutters, as Yifan nods his acquiescence.

_I wish to be between you,_ Yixing signs. _I will take Baekhyun, and I want Yifan to take me._

Yifan blinks. “Can you do that?” he asks.

_I made myself so that I can. I hope I will please you._

The idea of it, that Yixing may have created himself an orifice he didn't biologically need just so that Yifan could fuck him, makes Yifan throb hard with desire. He pulls his aching cock back before it can shove itself out of his body and looks at Baekhyun. “Baek?”

“Are you kidding me? Fuck _yes_.” Baekhyun kicks his towel off and pulls Yixing on top of himself, wiggling until they're both directly under Yifan. “C’mon, Yifan, you're holding yourself back again.”

Humming a noise of agreement, Yifan settles his weight onto Yixing's back, positions himself, and lets go of his tight control over his cock. It slides out partway, meeting resistance when it hits Yixing's firm, full thighs; Yifan puts some muscle into it and forces between them, pushing himself past Yixing until he feels Baekhyun's heat, and then farther, until the head of his cock is nestled between Baekhyun's thighs. The pressure already has him panting with arousal, but he tightens his muscles and lifts his cock. Baekhyun's eyes roll back, and he moans deeply, as the soft, fat head of Yifan's cock pushes teasingly at Baekhyun's rim.

Yixing arches his back sensuously, rubbing onto Yifan's shaft with a nearly silent whine of pleasure. Gods, he's fucking spectacular. Yifan wraps careful lips around the juncture of Yixing's neck and shoulder, resisting the urge to bite down. Yixing's skin is firmer to the touch than Baekhyun's, but so easy to pierce, so quick to bruise. Yifan knows he will discolor with the slightest pressure, and forces back the primitive urge to mark up Yixing's beautiful body in dozens of places.

A cool touch near the head of his cock signals to Yifan that Yixing is ready to start preparing Baekhyun, so Yifan pulls back momentarily, watching with interest as a single vine, dripping with sweet, slick sap, tentatively feels around Baek's hole. The last time they did this, Yifan had done the bulk of the work, and Yixing had only been along for the ride. Now, Yixing is the one slicking Baekhyun up by touch, circling his hole and pushing gently inside.

He seems to have a handle on it. Pleased, Yifan rearranges himself and lifts Yixing's behind with a gentle grip. Yixing hums and arches, giving Yifan access.

Yifan dips his head and licks lightly at Yixing's new hole, sweet and fresh as the rest of him. Yixing sighs, his torso heaving under Yifan's hands, and his ass just… _opens_. Yifan's heard of assholes referred to as flowers, which is poetic, if not very accurate. But that's honestly exactly what this looks like - like a flower unfurling.

It hits Yifan, then, that Yixing has complete control over every part of his body, inside and out. He can make himself as deep or as tight as he wants, as smooth or rough, dry or slick, as he thinks will please his lover. His cock throbs painfully at the thought.

“You… ah, ahhh… you okay back there?” Baekhyun asks breathlessly.

“I'm perfectly fine,” Yifan murmurs. “Just trying to decide how to handle this. It's my first time fucking an alien, you know.” He looks over Yixing's shoulder at Baekhyun with eyebrow raised. “How are you doing?”

A laugh. “I am peachy fucking keen,” Baekhyun gasps. “A little jealous that Xing gets to take your knot before I do, but he feels so goddamn good that I'm not sure how much I can really bring myself to care right now.”

“Hmmm.” Yifan leans back again, looking down. Yixing is fucking Baekhyun with two vines already, and a third is prodding around. He runs his fingers around Baekhyun's puffy, stretched rim, listens to Baekhyun's moaning, and wonders how far Yixing will push it.

Stretching Yixing should require considerably less effort than Baekhyun. Yifan pushes his fingers into Yixing's hole, gently as he can, and finds that he opens easily and is already slick inside. Carefully, Yifan works Yixing open, circling his fingers over and over until Yixing unfurls wide enough to accommodate Yifan's considerable cock.

Very carefully, Yifan lines himself up. Yixing arches, inviting him silently. Yifan pushes.

It isn't at all like fucking a human. Or a Koharan. Or _anything_ he's ever felt. There's very little give to Yixing's insides; instead there's the feeling of dozens of vines restlessly shifting, surrounding him, and after a moment, conforming to his shape.

Then, something squeezes, and Yifan pitches forward with a gasp, barely catching himself before he crushes his lovers under him.

Baekhyun starts laughing, breathless and half-choked. “That good, huh?” he asks.

Yifan wants to answer, but all he can do is whine desperately with his eyes screwed tightly shut. Yixing's insides feel like multiple dextrous, talented hands surrounding him, squeezing and rubbing him in so many different ways that it's almost too much. Yifan's cock is very sensitive and he can't even _attempt_ to thrust like this.

“Xing, slow down,” Baekhyun says, and Yifan pries his eyes open in time to see him finish signing it. “You're hurting him.” Immediately, the intense stimulation slows, and Yifan blows out a sigh.

“Sorry,” Yixing whispers, sounding distressed. “Sorry, Yifan, sorry!”

Yifan leans his weight on one arm so he can put his hand in front of Yixing's face and sign. “It's okay,” he says, keeping his chest pressed to Yixing's back so Yixing can feel his voice vibrate. “This is still new. We'll learn together.”

Yixing nods. His insides start to move again, but slower, gentler, less frantic. He tries out a few different things - squeezing, rippling, twisting, rubbing - until he lands on this gorgeous undulating motion that makes Yifan moan loudly, his cock jerking and precome spitting out.

They fall into a rhythm. Yifan thrusts, slow and deep, wary of bruising Yixing's delicate flesh if he pushes too hard. There's no need, anyway; Yixing's alien interior is doing all the work, massaging his entire cock with slick, constantly changing pressure. Their rocking motion pushes Yixing into Baekhyun, who is whimpering and squirming, his cock rubbing against Yixing's firm, ridged stomach and his ass invaded with an unknown number of Yixing's clever vines.

It kind of bothers Yifan that he doesn't know how much of Yixing is stuffing Baekhyun full, or what he's doing to him. “Yixing,” he signs, “can we move so I can see Baekhyun?”

Yixing leans down and kisses his signing fingers, plump lips slick with his sap. “Okay,” he whispers. “Back?”

Wrapping his arm around Yixing's sleek waist, Yifan rears back. They end up kneeling on the bed with Yixing impaled on Yifan's lap, cuddled comfortably against his chest. The little tendrils that pretend to be hair are curling wildly with Yixing's excitement, giving him an adorably disheveled look.

Yifan slides his hand down Yixing's pretty torso, stroking at his slit and the base of the vines that protrude from it. There's more now, at least a dozen of them, and they're very thick and so, so smooth. In front of them on the bed, Yifan watches as Yixing wraps Baekhyun up from all sides and lift him closer to them, raising his shoulders up a little so he can see them as well.

Baekhyun exhales shakily. “Wow, you two look fucking good together,” he laughs.

“You look beyond beautiful,” Yifan says softly, because he does. He's trembling all over from the simulation, his body arched and covered in shiny pink sap and arranged in artistic display, floating in the cradle of Yixing's inhumanly strong embrace and stuffed with a full four vines, which are twisted around each other and fucking him with slow, deep determination. His cock is angrily red and pointed up and out, and one vine slowly spirals around it until it completely disappears.

Huffing, Baekhyun says, “Is this how it's gonna be? You're just gonna let him warm your cock while you watch him ravish me?”

Mmmm. “Do you object?” Yifan asks softly.

“No. Fuck no. You look - ” Yixing’s vines suddenly twist inside him. Baekhyun's eyes roll back, and he stops trying to form sentences in favor of moaning.

Yifan shifts Yixing's weight in his lap, enjoying his shudder and the silent purr he can feel vibrating against his hand. His eyes are locked on to Baekhyun's stretched hole. “I think,” he murmurs throatily, “if you can get two more vines in there, that'd be about as thick as me.”

Baekhyun groans like he's dying. “Bring it on,” he breathes.

From a scientific perspective, watching Yixing carefully inserting another vine is fascinating. He's not limited by position the way fingers are, so instead of painstakingly working Baekhyun's rim loose enough to slip his vine alongside the ones already inserted, he simply worms it in _between_ the others, making the entire mass expand slowly inside Baekhyun's body.

From a hormonal perspective, though, it's beautiful fucking torture to watch. Baekhyun's overwhelmed whines and shocked moaning ignite Yifan's instincts, and the closer he gets to taking something as wide as Yifan's shaft, the harder it is to ignore the urge to fuck him. Yixing's body softly squeezing him is really not helping, keeping Yifan rock fucking solid and aching with need. Tightening his grip as much as he dares, Yifan lifts Yixing just enough to give himself some mobility and starts to thrust.

Yixing _shakes_ , shuddering like a leaf, and it gets Baekhyun's attention. Baek opens his eyes, and they dilate immediately, going abruptly black as he realizes what's happening. “Fuck,” he whispers, his eyes locked low where their bodies are joined.

Wanting to give him something good to look at, wanting to show off, Yifan lifts Yixing higher. Yixing is heavier than he looks, heavier than a human his size would be, but Yifan is strong. He holds Yixing's body up high enough that he can pull his cock nearly all the way out, partially retracting it to get the most range of motion possible, and then makes a show of thrusting back in, excruciatingly slowly, just to highlight how big and thick he is. Yixing's head rolls back, his arms reach back to wrap around Yifan's neck, his mouth drops open in a voiceless moan, and Baekhyun's eyes almost bug out of his head.

“Yixing,” Baekhyun breathes, his hand signs shaky. “Does Yifan feel good inside you?”

Yixing turns his head to snuggle under Yifan's chin. His restless hair tickles Yifan's jaw as he signs, _He is very warm, and I like to feel his heartbeat. He's being very gentle with me. Yes, he feels good._

Grinning, Yifan presses kisses to his hairline. “I am so freaking fond of you, little angel,” he murmurs. He doesn't sign it, and Yixing probably wouldn't know what an angel was anyway, but that's alright, he's just thinking out loud.

Baekhyun's biting his lip again, and that ignites emotions that go a little bit beyond _fond_. “But you're not… Why aren't you knotting?”

Yifan thrusts again, slow and steady, reveling in the alien ripple of Yixing's body as it pulls his cock eagerly in. “He's not warm enough,” Yifan murmurs. “He feels good, so good, but my body knows I can't breed him. So, no knot.” It's probably for the best, honestly - as incredible as it would feel to have Yixing's grasping insides wrapped around his knot, Yifan has a bad tendency to lose control of his strength when he's knotting, and he'd be too likely to bruise or break Yixing. “I'm still gonna come, don't worry.”

“Yixing,” Baekhyun signs, his chest heaving, “do you want Yifan to come inside you?” He can barely make it through the question, because Yixing's got a sixth vine working into him now, pushing him wide open and stuffing him so full that Yifan's really not sure how it is Baekhyun isn't screaming. 

_You will both come inside me,_ Yixing signs, much steadier than either Baekhyun looks or Yifan feels. _I want to drink you._ He cocks his head. _Is it time? Should I make you come now?_

“I take back the ‘angel’ comment,” Yifan mutters, as Baekhyun gasps and nods eagerly. Yixing shifts his weight, pulling Baekhyun closer to them, until he's on his knees in front of them, his body weight supported mostly by Yixing's vines around his waist and shoulders.

Then, without warning, Yixing changes everything at once. The vines inside Baekhyun abruptly spread, the ones around his cock ripple and tighten, and his insides clench powerfully around Yifan's cock, suddenly soaked with slickness. Baekhyun screams, and Yifan snarls, reaching out with one hand to steady them both.

Baekhyun grabs for his hand, intertwining their fingers and holding on tightly.

Closing his eyes, Yifan breathes deeply. That's a mistake, because now that he's so close, all Yifan can smell is Baekhyun. That, combined with the warm, delicate fingers nestled between his own, is enough to make his cock throb wildly and his knot begin to grow.

“Shit,” Yifan whispers, and goes stock-still. He doesn't need to move, anyway - the slick, sucking pressure of Yixing's body is getting him off, orgasm rising finally from deep within.

The sharp, distinctive scent of come hits the air. Yifan looks up just in time to see Baekhyun literally thrashing in the air, milky white seeping out from between the coils of vines around his cock. He's completely senseless, completely overcome, and Yifan shoves his own hand into his mouth and bites down as orgasm is ripped out of him, his only way of keeping himself from taking a chunk out of Yixing's shoulder in his mindless ecstasy.

Sheer instinct alone gives Yifan both the strength and the sense to catch Baekhyun as Yixing's grip on him slumps. He pulls Baek close, sandwiching Yixing between them, wrapping them both in his arms they shiver and he jerks his way through aftershocks.

When he comes back to himself, Yixing is kissing Baekhyun softly, and slowly, gently pulling out one vine at a time. Baekhyun is glassy-eyed and overcome, but still gripping Yifan's fingers tightly.

Yifan lifts his hand and kisses his knuckles. Baekhyun blinks at him, hazily focusing on the action, and then his eyes widen as the meaning sinks into his brain.

He smiles, unsteady but genuine, and doesn't let go of Yifan's hand. And for Yifan, that says more than words ever could.

 


	9. Chapter 9

This time, Baekhyun wakens while Yifan is still asleep. He carefully rolls out from under the alpha's arm, slipping from the bed without disturbing him. Shuffling to the bathroom, Baekhyun does an aborted version of his usual morning routine, then pulls on those shorts Yixing likes and let himself out onto the balcony.

Yixing is seated crosslegged on the balcony floor, his butt in the divot made by his original crash landing and his face turned up to the beam of angled, early-morning sunlight that cuts through the hole in the shaded polymer glass. Baek sits down across from him with his back to the glass, careful to avoid the sunlight falling on his bared torso. As long as he is close to Yixing, he will be safe from the radiation, but the sunlight will still burn his pale skin quite quickly.

He taps Yixing's knee, and Yixing smiles, opening his eyes. "Hi, Baek," he whispers.

"Morning, Xing." Baekhyun strokes a hand over Yixing's thigh, leaving it there as he signs with the other. "You don't sleep the way we do, huh?"

Yixing shakes his head. _I rest,_ he signs, _but I don't sleep, no._ He cocks his head. _How do you feel this morning? I tried to be very careful last night but I'm not yet well-versed in human limitations._

Grinning, Baekhyun stretches. "I'm sore," he admits. "I'm really sore. You were gentle, though. It'll be fine." Leaning back on one hand, Baekhyun signs with the other. "How about you?"

_I am bruised,_ Yixing says. _Bruised in many places. I don't mind, though._

Bruised? Frowning, Baekhyun leans in, looks closer. Yixing is unclothed, and when Baekhyun shades his eyes to protect against the already very bright sunlight, he sees the bruising. Discoloration around Yixing's hips, low on his abdomen, and high on his neck, in brown and purple and dark green.

Shit. Most of that must have been Yifan, but the bruise on Yixing's stomach was made by Baekhyun rubbing his cock there. He suddenly feels kind of sick. "Xing, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Pretty honey-brown eyes blink at him. _It's alright, Baekhyun. I will heal. My flesh does not bounce back as yours does, but I am resilient all the same._ He smiles fondly. _The pain is very slight, and my experience last night was worth it. With enough light and air, I will heal very quickly._

Baekhyun doesn't like the thought of Yixing being in _any_ pain, though. He scoots over to Yixing's side, still staying just out of the puddle of sunlight, and takes a closer look. The bruises on Yixing's hips, in the exact shape of Yifan's huge hands, are the worst. From this close, Baekhyun can see that Yixing's skin is partially crushed inwards, indented, and it looks soft and kind of mushy there instead of full and firm.

Pressing a kiss to Yixing's shoulder, Baekhyun signs, “I don’t like it when you’re injured.”

_I will heal. Don’t worry, Baekhyun._

“If you can be injured like this, you can be injured worse than this, right?” Baekhyun prods. “You’ve lived such a long time… Can you be killed?”

Yixing cocks his head. _This is not a phrase that has been taught to me. Please explain._

Oh, of course, Jongdae wouldn’t have had reason to teach that one. “Can your life be ended by someone else?”

_Ah._ Yixing appears to think about it. _I don’t know. I have been very badly injured in the past, but I have not died. Or if I have died, I don’t remember it._ Baekhyun blinks at him, trying to make sense of that. _How does one know if they can be killed, until it happens?_

That’s… that’s a valid question, actually. “Well, humans and Koharans can be killed. We know this because it has happened to others of our kind.” Something occurs to him. “Yixing… _are_ there any others of your kind?”

Yixing squeezes his knee once. _If there are, he signs, I don’t remember them. As far as I know, I have always been alone._

Baekhyun takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he says softly.

Brushing a kiss across his cheek, Yixing smiles. _Don’t be sorry for me. My life is long and has been well filled. Many people, all across the universe, have helped me and loved me._ He unfolds his legs and lets them tangle with Baekhyun’s. _That is why I am eager to help Yifan with his project. All of this time, all of these lives, I have been assisted by so many people, taken in, given a home. Always, I am a stranger who must rely on others to learn, to survive._

Leaning his head on Yixing’s shoulder, Baekhyun drops his hand to Yixing’s leg, strokes his thumb across Yixing’s thigh as he watches him sign.

_Yifan has given me an opportunity to serve others in an important way. I’ve never had that chance before._ Yixing sighs, noiseless. _Always, others help me. Now, I can help others. And not just some, either. Many. An entire race whose lives might be made better, because of me._

It’s a thought Baekhyun hasn’t had before. “This is really important to you, isn’t it?”

_It is. I know I can help the people I can touch, you and Jongdae and Sehun and Dr. Cho. They will be safer, more comfortable, less sick, because of me. But with Yifan’s help, perhaps I can touch every human on Kohara._ He looks down at Baekhyun and smiles. _How can I not try?_

Baekhyun’s heart aches. “I love you,” he signs, and throws his arms around Yixing’s shoulders.

Yixing nuzzles into him without hesitation. _I love you too, Baekhyun,_ he signs.

It’s so easy, so completely without hesitation, that it makes Baekhyun laugh. “You know what that means, right?”

_Yes. Jongdae explained it to me. He asked me if I loved Yifan and you._

“What did you tell him?”

_I told him I love everything._

Of course. Baekhyun isn't even a little bit surprised. “You love the universe, and everyone in it.”

_Yes._ Yixing lets his head rest on Baekhyun’s. _But it is good to know that a little part of the universe loves me back._

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan’s new research project begins that morning with a full examination of all subjects, including Dr. Cho, who is going to become a part of the research by simple virtue of being a human in close proximity to Yixing for extended periods of time. Yifan had decided the night before that Dr. Cho would be the control for the variable of sex; he is the only subject who hasn’t had intimate contact with Yixing already and Yifan has asked Yixing to refrain from his usual methods of getting to know someone in his case. And it’s probably in violation of some kind of hospital code of conduct for him and his boss to be intimate with the same person, anyway.

Of course, this is a case study, not a full study. Ideally, Yifan would have large groups of individuals to work with so he could get a clearer picture of the effects Yixing could have, but obviously, that isn't an option. He has to glean as much as he can with what he has.

Once the examinations are done, Yifan formally releases Jongdae from inpatient care, as he promised. Baekhyun offers to walk Jongdae down to the waiting room and stay with him until his brother comes to pick him up. They go, arm in arm and with a cartful of Jongdae's possessions pulled behind them, leaving Yixing alone with Yifan and Dr. Cho.

Yifan spend the afternoon catching Dr. Cho up on what he's learned so far, and how he learned it. He makes a point to sign as he speaks so that Yixing can follow the conversation, and asks that Dr. Cho do the same, and through that, Yixing is able to shed still a little more light on some things.

Dr. Cho is most interested in the piece of Yixing's vine which Yifan has been studying from the beginning, the one he found broken off in Baekhyun's room that first night. Yifan tells them how he was shocked by how long the vine took to die - over a week.

Yixing cocks his head. _You were studying it here, yes?_

“Yes. I kept it locked in my office.” Yifan looks at him curiously. “Why?

_Your office has no windows._

Blinking, Yifan scrambles to figure out why that is relevant. “No, it doesn't.” Then, a thought occurs to him. “Wait, do you mean that if I'd kept it somewhere with windows, it wouldn't have died?

_Even if you had kept it close to Jongdae, it would have lived,_ Yixing said. _My flesh can survive on radiation alone._

That's a very important thing to know. With possibilities swirling in his mind, Yifan asks, “If your flesh is detached, will it continue to grow?” Yixing looks confused, so Yifan elaborates. “Some succulents can grow whole new plants from a small cutting. It's called propagation.”

_How interesting! But no. If you take a piece from me, it can be kept alive, but it will never grow._

Huffing, Yifan leans back in his chair. “You're sure?”

_Yes. That is not how my body works._

“Damn.”

“You thought maybe we could use a single cutting from him to cultivate more?” Dr. Cho asks. “Like a cell line?”

“Yeah. Asking him to donate one tiny, living piece of his body would be a relatively reasonable request. If there would need to be one for every patient, though, that's obviously not a solution.” Yifan leans his head on his hand. “And I've already tested the vine. Once it died, it didn't absorb radiation any more.”

“Hmm.” Dr. Cho purses his lips. “Well, perhaps studying the chemical makeup of his flesh will reveal the basic process? Or perhaps the dead flesh can still neutralize radiation of it is ingested.”

“Yeah, those are on my list of hypotheses.”

“Well. Both seem like a good place to begin, and there are two of us, yes?” Dr. Cho gently takes the dead vine from Yifan's hand. “I will work on the chemical makeup of Yixing's flesh. You work with Yixing to discover the exact biological process by which radiation is absorbed. With luck, one of us may stumble upon the solution.”

Yifan smiles. It's nice to have someone to work with on this. “Sounds good, boss.”

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun has to take a moment to himself before he reports to his shift, because he just witnessed Jongdae's brother Minseok picking him up to take him home, and the sheer, unbelieving _joy_ on the man's face made Baekhyun's heart do all kinds of little flips.

Jongdae, of course, is not totally healed yet. But he is out of the immediate danger, and the rest of his recovery is just going to be meds, physio, and time. It’s a miracle, or at least, that's what Jongdae has told his brother.

So Baekhyun spends a few minutes in the staff bathrooms, leaning on the sink, taking deep breaths, waiting for his damp eyes to dry and thinking.

The project Yifan and Yixing are working on is obviously important. But Baekhyun hasn't forgotten Dr. Lee's slightly insane reaction to having the idea of a cure for radiation poisoning dangled front of him. People like Dr. Lee will see Yixing as a cash cow, and nothing more. The thought terrifies Baekhyun, and functionally speaking, there aren't a lot of protections in place that would help Yixing if something were to happen.

On a whim, Baekhyun pulls out his comm and shoots off a message to his brothers.

_bbaek: What would it take to get Yixing citizenship status?_

He rinses off his face and prepares to go to work. His comm buzzes just as he's leaving the bathroom.

_pcwhy: are we talking legal citizenship status, or a fake id number?_

_bbaek: let's explore both options_

Sehun answers him just add he's about to reach the EC.

_ooohun: i can get yixing an id number, a bank account and a comm by tomorrow if you want_

_ooohun: pros - fast, cheap, gets him integrated into society quickly_

_ooohun: cons - really illegal, everything he earns could be taken away from him if he's found out_

He loves his brothers.

_bbaek: would it have an impact on patient protection?_

_pcwhy: if he sues for mistreatment under PP laws and it's found out his citizenship is fake, the case would probably get thrown out of court_

Damn. But this is why he asked them - Sehun is working on a master's degree in comm technology and Chanyeol is a criminal attorney. It isn't the first time he's gotten their advice on the legality - or _illegality_ \- of a situation.

_bbaek: what about legal citizenship?_

_pcwhy: not my area of expertise but i know a guy. i'll get back to you_

_bbaek: tx yeol_

Tucking his comm into his pocket, Baek heads in to work.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

For once, Baekhyun's shift is relatively quiet. It’s a midday shift on a day of the week that’s generally pretty slow anyway, and the respite from insanity is nice.

It also doesn't last long. In fact, it lasts only about halfway through the shift, when Tao comes in for his own shift. Immediately - before he even clocks in - Tao drags Baekhyun into an empty exam room.

“Okay,” Tao says, crossing his arms. “Spill.”

Baekhyun plays dumb. “Spill what?”

“Nope, don't even try that. There's some kinda something going on with you and Yifan and it's more that just fucking.”

Shit. Because he can't be sure what all Tao has figured out or guessed, Baekhyun goes for the most obvious first. “Yeah, it's… it's more than just fucking. We're dating.” It's the first time he's said that aloud, and he can't stop his pleased blush. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Tao stops and blinks, his nostrils flaring. “Wait. You are?” He steps forward, crowding into Baekhyun's space. “For how long? Do you love him?”

Baekhyun plants a hand his chest to stop him from getting any closer. “It's only been like two days, and I don't know yet. What the fuck, Tao.” It's a question that's been in the back of his mind since his conversation with Yixing that morning, when he said it so easily. With Yifan, though, the question feels weightier, and Baekhyun's not sure he's ready to make that decision. Koharans take declarations of love very, _very_ seriously.

“Oh. Well. That's good! But that's not what I meant.” Tao takes a step back, as if realizing he's close enough to be getting his scent on Baekhyun. Baekhyun resists the urge to roll his eyes. “I'm talking about whatever was going on last night. Why was Yifan trying to get ahold of you so desperately? Why'd you get pulled off your shift? And for that matter, who's that guy who's always around you two?” Red eyes narrow. “He's got something to do with this, I know he does. Both of you smell like him _constantly_.”

“That guy?” Baekhyun's mind races. “Which one? Not my brothers?”

An eye roll. “No. The pale guy who always smells like grass.”

Alright, apparently there's no getting around this. Tao's seen Yixing around too many times. “His name is Yixing. He's, uh, he's a patient. Sort of.” Baekhyun's brain is chasing itself in circles to come up with a reasonable story. “He's participating in Yifan's research.” There, that's innocuous enough.

Or maybe not. Tao raises an eyebrow. “Doesn't explain why his scent is always all over both of you.”

“He's, um, well.” Baekhyun smiles sheepishly, pulling out every trick he knows to fool a Koharan’s senses. “He's got some rare conditions, and no support system, you know? No family or anything. The hospital wasn't really serving his needs, so we're kind of… taking care of him. For now, anyway.” He doesn't necessarily like the implications, but it's the closest he can get without telling the whole truth.

Luckily, it seems to work. “Just like Yifan to try and white-knight someone,” Tao mutters. “Does that guy have anything to do with Yifan's new research project?”

Baekhyun's heart jerks oddly. “How do you know about that?”

“I was the one who took the call when his boss called down here to check your availability.” He shrugs. “I know I'm not allowed to know what you guys are working on, but whatever it is, I hope you have more luck than his last project. He was like… one wrong move away from getting fired. A new, high-profile project has got to be a godsend for him.”

Slowly, Baekhyun sits on the bed. “I didn't realize things were that dire,” he mutters.

“Not surprising. I usually have to get him drunk before he'll even talk about it.” A flash of sharp teeth. “Hey, but that's good, right? If he's been given a high-security project, than means someone high-up really believes he's onto something. Maybe that'll rescue his career.”

Baekhyun nods without really thinking about it. He's too busy flashing back to yesterday evening. _You can't think I did this on purpose, right? You have to trust me._

Baekhyun does trust Yifan. Of course he does.

It's just… Yifan is Koharan. The disease he's working so hard to find a cure for doesn't even affect him. It's his job, nothing more.

No. Yifan loves Yixing just the same way Baekhyun does. He wouldn't let an opportunity for career advancement override what was best for Yixing.

…Would he?

Tao interrupts his thoughts with a murmured Koharan saying that has roughly the same meaning as the human phrase _speak of the devil and he shall appear._ Baekhyun looks up.

Yixing stands in the doorway, smiling beautifully. _Hi, Baekhyun,_ he signs.

“Yixing?” He's supposed to be in the lab with Yifan right now! “What's going on? Where's Yifan?”

_He and Dr. Cho were called away. He said I should come find you instead of waiting alone._ Yixing looks at Zitao. _Hello!_

Baekhyun is going to _kill_ Yifan. What the hell was he thinking? What if Yixing had gotten lost - or run into Dr. Lee?!

“Hi,” Tao says. He signs it, too, obviously picking up on the fact that Yixing is deaf. “I'm Nurse Tao, I work with Baekhyun.”

_It is good to meet you, Nurse Tao,_ Yixing signs with his usual cheer. _You are Koharan, but you are not like Yifan. Can I see you?_

Tao blinks, confused. Baekhyun immediately stands. “Ooohhhhkay, Xing, that's enough of that. Tao is working right now.” Without signing, Baekhyun turns and mutters, “Sorry, he's not real good with social boundaries.”

“Ahhh.” Tao's confusion smoothes out. “Gotcha.” To Yixing, in sign language, he says, “Baekhyun will be working with patients. Would you like to help me at the front desk?”

Baekhyun sucks in a breath through his teeth, but it's too late. Yixing looks enchanted by the idea. _I would like to help you!_

“Great!” Tao glances at Baekhyun. “I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry.”

Shit. Well, there really isn't any getting around it without arousing Tao's suspicions. “Don't be afraid to tell him no if he does something inappropriate,” Baekhyun says. “You won't offend him.”

“That puts him one up on most of the patients I've worked with, then.” Tao glances at the clock. “Shit. Come on, we should get back to work.”

He guides Yixing out the door with a hand on his back, and Baekhyun follows, wondering why the hell Yifan thought this was a good idea.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

“Do you have any idea what's going on?” Yifan asks under his breath as they hurry down the hall.

“Not a clue,” Dr. Cho says, stretching his stride to keep up with Yifan's. “Are you sure it was a good idea to send Yixing away like that?”

No. No, he isn't sure. “There's a chance this is a diversion to get us away from him,” Yifan explains. “It's a small chance, but…”

“Ah. I would tell you that you were being paranoid, but after that display yesterday by a certain colleague, I see your reasoning.”

Yeah. Of course, there's risk in sending Yixing to answer the corridors alone, too, no matter how much Yifan had impressed on him that he was to go straight to Baekhyun and not get sidetracked for any reason. But the call had come from the head of the Board's Committee on Research and had basically told them in no uncertain terms to report to the Board conference room _immediately._

Yifan rolls his braid up into a knot at the back of his neck as they move, knowing from experience that he's taken more seriously when his hair is completely up. It's all he has time for - he can't change into a less rumpled lab coat or switch to more professional shoes - so it will have to do.

The conference room is a familiar one. Yifan is in here at least annually for his project review presentations, sometimes more often than that. The members of the Committee are familiar to him, as well.

But there's one more person in the room. Dr. Lee.

Yifan doesn't react, and to his credit, neither does Dr. Cho. They don't even exchange a glance as they enter, the door closing behind them.

The Chairman of this committee is an older, stern woman named Mrs. Kim who has been scrutinizing Yifan's every move since his research began. She's _always_ the one he has to convince, because the Committee only has four members and she's the designated tie-breaker.

Chairwoman Kim doesn't like Yifan, and the feeling is mutual. After all these years, though, he _knows_ her. Knows how she thinks and what she believes is right. He's lasted this long because in the end, he's always been able to convince her that his work is worth it.

He's already working out which arguments will best appeal to the Committee before the Chairwoman even speaks.

“Dr. Cho, Dr. Wu, good afternoon,” she says formally. “Please, have a seat.”

Yifan would prefer to stand - arguing always fills him with nervous energy - but he's the biggest person the room, and well aware that it makes him seem less sympathetic, or even threatening. He's also the only alpha, which is not going to work in his favor. The only other Koharans in the room are the omega and theta on the Committee, and Dr. Lee, who is himself a theta.

Yifan sits, choosing the chair directly across from Chairwoman Kim. At his side, Dr. Cho does the same.

“As you know, last night an emergency meeting of this Committee was called to discuss the findings of Dr. Wu’s previous research project,” Chairwoman Kim says crisply. “To cut a long story short, the result of that meeting was the termination of Dr. Wu’s previous research project, and the inception of a new, secured project co-run by Drs. Wu and Cho, along a new line of research.” She leans back in her chair, wizened fingers folding together on the table in front of her. “Let the record show that this afternoon, Dr. Lee approached this Committee with the claim that this decision was made in haste, before all facts of the case could be presented.”

Fucking _bastard._ Yifan's temper is rising, but he squashes it down as hard as he can. Both of the Koharan members of the committee will be able to smell his anger.

Unfortunately, Dr. Lee smells it, as evidenced by his slight smirk. And if he can smell it, the others probably can, as well.

Yifan takes a deep breath and reminds himself that Yixing's safety is in his hands. “May I ask what evidence Dr. Lee believes was omitted?”

Dr. Lee smiles, and Yifan’s heart drops into his toes.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Despite Baekhyun's fears, Tao seems to have no trouble with Yixing. Baekhyun supposes he shouldn't have been worried; after all, Tao worked his way through medacadamy as an orderly in a mental hospital. Compared to that, Yixing is probably a ray of sunshine to work with.

Still, Baekhyun keeps an eye on them, checking on the front desk every chance gets. The last time he looked, Tao had Yixing entertaining a pair of little girls while their father was in the examination room. They were teaching him how to braid hair, which he seemed to be gleefully fascinated by, and told Baekhyun that he would ask Yifan if he could practice his new skill on him later.

But now, Baekhyun is coming back from his latest patient, and Yixing is nowhere to be seen. Tao, still behind the desk, looks up as he approaches.

“Where'd he go?” Baekhyun asks.

“A nurse came and got him,” Tao says. Baekhyun's sudden fear and horror must leak from his pores, because Tao's expression compresses into concern. “Baek? You said he's a research patient, right? The nurse said Dr. Cho sent her, I didn't think anything of it.”

Dr. Cho. Okay, that calms Baekhyun a little bit… but not much, because how easy would it be for Dr. Lee to just instruct a staff person to say that?

“Did she say where she was taking him?” Baekhyun asks.

“Uh, back to the labs, I think.” Tao eyes him. “So you're still hiding something, obviously.”

Fuck. “I can't tell you, Tao, and neither can Yifan. Can you please just accept that? Please?”

Red eyes narrow. “Yeah. For now.” Tao looks around. “We're slow, and your break is in a few minutes anyway. Go. I'll cover for you.”

Baekhyun exhales. “I owe you one, Tao, thanks.” He takes off before Tao can ask more questions.

The secured labs are further away than the unsecured ones, and the extra distance gives Baekhyun enough time to really work himself into a panic. Running up four flights of stairs at full speed only contributes, and by the time Baekhyun reaches the labs, he’s out of breath and heart-poundingly nervous.

The labs are locked via DNA scanners, but Dr. Cho gave him access that morning. Baekhyun presses his thumb to the scanner.

The scanner rejects him.

Eyes widening, Baekhyun tries again, with the other thumb. Same result. He knows a third unsuccessful attempt will set off alarms, so instead he steps back and pulls out his comm.

There’s messages from Chanyeol, but Baekhyun doesn’t look at those right now. He texts Yifan.

_bbaek: i can’t get into the labs anymore_  
_bbaek: yifan what’s going on_

He doesn’t get an answer right away, but a few moments later, the door to the lab opens, and Yifan comes out, letting the door close behind him. Baekhyun’s gut folds in on itself, relief and anger roiling together.

“Please tell me Yixing is in there with you,” he hisses. Glancing to the side, Yifan nods. It’s sharp, small, silent, and Baekhyun knows instantly that something isn’t right. “Yifan? What’s -”

“Nurse Byun. I’m not even surprised.”

Dr. Lee. Coming out from _inside_ the labs.

Baekhyun glances between Yifan and Dr. Lee with incredulous horror. Yifan’s lips are flat and pressed almost white; Baekhyun can practically taste the bitter words he’s holding back.

Instead, what he says is, “Dr. Lee has seen fit to remove you and Jongdae from the project, Baekhyun.” His tone is completely flat, completely non-committal, devoid of his usual soft pleasantness.

“Since when does _Doctor Lee_ have the authority to remove people from _your_ project?”

“Since the Committee on Research put this project, and Drs. Cho and Wu, under my oversight,” Dr. Lee says brightly. “Which was, oh, about forty-five minutes ago.” He cocks his head. “Since the project was so _ineptly_ and _unprofessionally_ managed, I am starting it over again, with new research subjects. We can’t have too many unknowns contaminating the data.”

By which he means, he doesn’t want Baekhyun or Jongdae to influence Yixing. Assuming he even knows Yixing is in there, or who he is, or _what_ he is.

Dr. Lee looks at the time readout on his comm. “Aren’t you on shift right now, Nurse Byun?”

Oooh, everything about this man sets Baekhyun’s teeth on edge. “I’m on my break.”

“Well, you had better get back!” A flash of a sharp-toothed smile, cruel and unfriendly. “There’s no reason for you to be in this hallway, after all.”

Stunned, Baekhyun meets Yifan’s eyes. They’re shaded by his lenses, and give away nothing. No expression, no emotion, no reassurance whatsoever.

With nothing to work with, and unable to come up with any sort of protest that doesn’t give away too much about Yixing, Baekhyun has no choice but to turn away.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

The rest of Baekhyun’s shift is absolutely, unequivocally excruciating.

Tao can tell something is wrong, but Baekhyun can’t tell him what it is, can’t even begin to hint. So he stays silent, and tries to ignore the looks his co-workers are giving him, especially the Koharan ones who can clearly smell his distress.

An hour or so into the second half of his shift, Baekhyun can’t stand the anxiety any more, and he texts Yifan.

_bbaek: you have to tell me what’s going on_  
_bbaek: i am literally going insane here_

_Wyfan: later baek_

_bbaek: don’t you fucking dare do this to me_

There’s no answer for a few minutes, and Baekhyun’s temper is boiling. Then, finally, he gets another message.

_Wyfan: plz remember who gave you your comm device_

It takes Baekhyun a second to figure out what the hell _that_ means. Then, he gets it.

The hospital. Both his own device and Yifan’s are owned by the hospital. Technically, the hospital could access his accounts, read his texts, record his calls. There are privacy laws in place, of course, but Dr. Lee already showed how much of a shit he gives about _that_ when he accessed Baekhyun’s blood tests without permission.

As quickly as it boiled, Baekhyun’s temper turns to ice. For the first time, he’s afraid, more afraid than he is angry.

And then he remembers the unread texts from his brothers, and hurries to open them.

_pcwhy: i spoke to my terrifying, and yet terrifyingly smart citizenship law colleague_  
_pcwhy: it was difficult for me to explain the problem without giving anything away but_  
_pcwhy: from what i gather, in yixing’s case, getting him citizenship status would ride mostly on proving his personhood_

_pcwhy: bc they were rewritten last century to be inclusive to humans, all laws address “persons”_  
_pcwhy: so getting him protection will be based on proving he’s a person, which honestly shouldn’t be all that difficult since he communicates via a common language and has emotions and independent thoughts and shit_

_pcwhy: the big problem would be taking that case to a court in a way that doesn’t cause an international uproar_  
_pcwhy: we’d have to find some way to make the courts guarantee complete confidentiality BEFORE presenting the case and idek if that’s possible_  
_pcwhy: with that said, i think i piqued my colleague’s interest, so if we need a tiny, dead-scary citizenship lawyer on our side, i could probably convince him to help us_

It’s just a little bit reassuring. Not much, but a little bit.

_bbaek: thx yeol. we may need it. can i vidcall you later tonight after my shift_

_pcwhy: yea ill be up. everything ok?_

_bbaek: no. later_

Baekhyun quickly erases the entire conversation, including the earlier stuff from Sehun, and then empties out his trash folder too, just to be safe.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

“You can’t really be serious.”

“Look me in the eyes, Dr. Wu, and tell me how serious you think I am.”

Yifan is _this close_ to losing it entirely. “You cannot just force Yixing to stay here. You can’t _hold him against his will.”_

Dr. Cho has left for the evening, leaving Yifan behind to argue with Dr. Lee. And he’s been good, honestly. He’s been very accommodating and polite and professional, and hasn’t screamed or snarled or snapped his teeth at the older man even once.

But this is too much, and Yifan is on the verge of picking that hateful asshole up and bodily _throwing_ him from the labs, seniority be damned. Only the sure knowledge that such an act would get him immediately banned from the hospital - and thus, cut off from Yixing - stops him.

“One! We accommodate research patients in the labs all the time. They’re set up for it. He’ll be perfectly comfortable.” Dr. Lee holds up a second finger, and takes a step closer. “Two! I’m not _forcing_ him to stay here tonight. He agreed to it. You _saw_ him agree to it.” Yifan’s lips twist, because he knows - and clearly, Dr. Lee has already gleaned - that Yixing will agree to basically anything if it’s presented the right way. “And _three!_ Yixing represents what might be the most valuable asset currently in the possession of this hospital. He is _too valuable_ to allow him to wander the streets.”

“He is _not_. An _asset_.” Yifan’s so angry, he can’t unclench his teeth to speak.

“He is as much of an asset as you and I, Dr. Wu,” Dr. Lee says. “Person capital is still _capital_. I know you are not so stupid as to be unaware of the crime rate in this district. Can you honestly and truthfully tell me that Yixing would be safer leaving the hospital than he would be staying in it?”

Yes, because then he would be away from _this bastard_. “He would be with me,” Yifan spits. “And safe.”

“Ah, right, because we all know how _professional_ you are with your research subjects.” Dr. Lee’s eyes slide down Yifan’s tensed form contemptuously, hovering for a second near his crotch before flicking back up. The implication stuns Yifan so badly, he literally can’t think of a single thing to say in his own defense. “Yixing stays here tonight, and if you attempt to remove him, I will not only have you fired, I will have you _arrested_.”

With that as his parting barb, Dr. Lee leaves. When the door shuts behind him, Yifan collapses into a desk chair.

Yixing pokes his head out from the back room. “Yifan?” he whispers.

Yifan reaches for him.

Without hesitation, Yixing goes right over to him and climbs into his lap. Gathering him close, Yifan sighs into his tendril hair.

_You are not happy,_ Yixing signs. _What is wrong?_

_I don’t trust Dr. Lee,_ Yifan tells him. He signs it, mostly because he doesn’t trust that Dr. Lee isn’t listening at the door. _I don’t like the way he treats you._

Yixing cocks his head. _Why? He has not been bad to me._

Yifan can’t figure out how to explain it, and he’s so emotionally exhausted, he doesn’t even want to try. _Yixing,_ he signs instead, _do you feel safe here?_

_Yes, why wouldn’t I? There is a door and it is quiet. I even have my own room!_ He cups Yifan’s cheek, just like he always does, reassuring him. _I wish it had windows, but otherwise, it is a nice place. But I miss Baekhyun, where is he?_

His heart aching, Yifan signs, _Baekhyun is not allowed to see you. Dr. Lee said so._

_Oh._ Yixing’s face falls. _Can I see him tomorrow, then?_

Sighing, Yifan can’t answer.

 


	10. Chapter 10

A curt message from Yifan in the wee hours of the morning sees Baekhyun at the caffeine bar where they'd first met up weeks ago, staring again into a bowl of swirling colors. It’s early, too early for him to be up after a late shift, but it isn't like Baekhyun was sleeping, anyway.

“Hey.”

Baekhyun looks up as Yifan plops onto the bar stool next to him. He looks… well, like he's gotten about as much sleep as Baekhyun has.

Silently, Yifan holds his hand out for a greeting gesture. His shoulders are stiff, his eyes oddly shuttered, and Baekhyun abruptly realizes he's asking where they stand. That he's not sure if Baekhyun is too angry at him, not sure if they're still okay.

Baekhyun hesitates, but not long. He slides four fingers between Yifan's. Yifan deflates, slumping with relief, and Baekhyun's heart stutters. He must have been _really_ worried.

“Where's Yixing?” Baekhyun asks, as Yifan waves down the bartender.

“Still in the lab,” Yifan murmurs. He orders - a full plate of steak and eggs, plus a very strong caffeine bowl - and waits until the bartender moves away before he continues. “Dr. Cho kicked me out as soon as he got in. Ordered me to go eat.”

Dr. Cho. Okay. Baekhyun swallows the incredulous words he was about to fling at Yifan for leaving Yixing unwatched. Instead he asks, “You stayed at the lab last night?”

A nod, slow and tired. “Yeah. I couldn't leave him alone.” He flashes Baekhyun a shadow of a smile. “We both missed you, though.”

Baekhyun's insides are in a painful vise. “I missed you. I was so freaked out, I barely slept.”

Yifan sighs, one hand curving over Baekhyun's thigh. “I know, I'm sorry. It happened so fast, there was no way for me to warn you or explain.”

“What exactly happened?” Baekhyun asks.

Quietly, Yifan explains how he and Dr. Cho were unexpectedly called in front of the Board, and how Dr. Lee threw every accusation imaginable at them in an attempt to get Yifan kicked out of the project. “Apparently, all staff really are required to report evidence of a possible medical discovery to Pharmaceuticals immediately. That's how he found out - a tech in the labs noticed the pattern in yours and Jongdae's results and decided to report it. Just doing her duty.” He sounds so exhausted. “But that's what he opened with, that I'd failed my duty to the hospital by not reporting it immediately. Then he threw every little policy the hospital has at me, trying to convince the committee that I was too much of a renegade troublemaker to remain in charge of such an important project.”

Anger simmers under Baekhyun's skin. “Clearly, you're _such_ a maverick.”

Yifan snorts. “The Committee may not like me much, but at least they know me a little better than that. Dr. Cho vouched for me and we were able convince them that it was best if I remain involved. But then Dr. Cho brought up that I had a personal relationship with the research subjects - he was trying to prove I was the best choice - and Lee pounced on that.”

Yifan's food arrives. He pauses until the bartender is out of earshot.

“He told the Committee that I was in an _inappropriate_ relationship with a nurse, and that I'd tested the experimental medication on you without proper authorization.” He runs a hand over his face. “It looked so bad, but there was no way for me to explain without telling the Committee too much about Yixing. All I could say in my defense was that I hadn't exposed you to the cure on purpose, because I hadn't yet realised what it was. Which just made me look inept, instead of actively malicious. I thought for sure he had me.”

He takes a bite of his eggs, and Baekhyun's brow compresses. “What happened?”

Yifan swallows. “The committee vote was split,” he says. “Two wanted to remove me, two wanted me to stay. So Chairwoman Kim came up with the compromise. I'd still be involved, but Dr. Lee would get oversight of the project. Dr. Cho and I were ordered to turn over all files on the project immediately. We had no choice, we had to tell him about Yixing.”

Baekhyun's eyes fall closed, nervous fear shuddering through his stomach and making him feel sick. “How much did you tell him?”

“A lot. Everything that Dr. Cho had recorded in the files yesterday. What Yixing is, what we've learned so far about his anatomy, what happened to you and to Jongdae.” He takes another bite, morose. “Thankfully, Dr. Cho and I had agreed to keep the sexual aspect out of the files, so Dr. Lee doesn't know about that part.”

That's a small comfort. “We've gotta get him out of there,” Baekhyun mutters. “Tonight, when Lee's not there, we've gotta get him out. Get him out of the _city_ of we have to.”

Yifan blinks at him. “What?”

“Tonight, after my shift. We can sneak him out.”

Heavy silver brows compress. “We're not gonna just _give up_ , Baekhyun!”

It catches Baekhyun by surprise, because he honestly thought Yifan was on the same page with this. “He's in _danger_ ,” Baekhyun hisses, incredulous. “That man is _imprisoning_ him! You can't seriously think -”

“What I _think_ is that this work is too important to drop,” Yifan says sharply. His pupils are narrowing, all but disappearing into pools of lavender. “And Yixing agrees with me. He _wants_ to do this, Baek, I asked him over and over and he always gives me the same answer.”

“He doesn't _realize_ he's in danger!” Baekhyun argues. “He thinks the best of everyone!”

“He's several times older than either of us and has seen things we could never even imagine,” Yifan snaps. “He's not a _child_ , Baek. He's capable of weighing his options and deciding for himself, and he’s decided this work is too important. You _kidnapping_ him is not going to change his mind.” Stunned, Baekhyun stares him, and Yifan sighs. “I know you're worried about him,” he says gently. “But I really don't think he's in any danger. Lee is an asshole of the highest degree, but he has every motivation to keep Yixing secret and safe.”

Looking at Yifan's earnest, concerned expression, Baekhyun suddenly realizes why he doesn't - probably _can't_ \- understand. Yifan is young, big, smart, well-off, and above all else, an alpha. He's never been mugged, never been bullied, never had to stand up to someone three times his size. Baekhyun can feel in his gut that Lee would not be above hurting Yixing to get what he wants, but Yifan isn't going to believe that. Yifan doesn't have self-preservation instincts because he's never needed them.

Of course he doesn't really believe Dr. Lee is a threat. Yifan's probably never felt _truly_ threatened by anyone in his life.

Realizing that his current line of argument is going to get him nowhere fast, Baekhyun tries a different track. “As long as Yixing has to be kept a secret, Dr. Lee can and _will_ treat him like an object and not a person,” he says.

Yifan huffs. “Ugh. I know. That's why Dr. Cho and I agreed never to let Dr. Lee alone with him.” Baekhyun blinks, not expecting that. “That will have to be enough, I guess.”

Baekhyun never would have guessed that such a brilliant person was also this naive. “What if it isn't enough?” he says urgently. “What if Lee finds a way to get you kicked out of the project for good? Yixing needs to be protected. He needs _rights_.”

A frown. “He _has_ rights, though.”

“Not legally. Not as long as we're the only ones who know he exists.” Glancing around, Baekhyun lowers his voice. “Listen, I've been working on something with Chanyeol. We're preparing to petition for full citizenship for Yixing.”

Yifan's eyes go very, very wide. “You want to bring Yixing in front of the _courts_? How is that a good idea?!”

“Chanyeol thinks he can get us a private audience with a judge. Think about it! If Yixing has citizenship, if he has an ID number, then he's protected a way Lee or anyone else would hesitate to violate! He could earn money, he could hire a lawyer, he could sue the hospital for exploitation if he had to.”

“But it also risks Yixing coming to the attention of more people. The _wrong_ people.” Yifan looks far more concerned about this than he is about Dr. Lee, which Baekhyun thinks is pretty backwards. “What would happen if the government, or the military, or the _media_ found out about him?”

“I don't know,” Baekhyun hisses, “but it'll be twenty times worse off they find out about him and he's not already a protected citizen!”

“Baek-”

Baekhyun swipes his comm over the scanner front of them and pays for his caffeine. “Are you really worried about Yixing,” he asks shakily, “or are you worried the government would stop your research if they knew what you were doing?”

Stunned, Yifan doesn't respond. Baekhyun throws his cloak on and leaves before anything worse falls out of his mouth.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

It's one of the worst work days of Yifan's career.

Dr. Lee hovers. He's not a researcher, and it's quite apparent he hasn't done any actual medical examinations in many years. His questions are at times redundant, at times probing, at times infuriating. Desperate not to give Lee any ammunition to use against him, Yifan remains as calm and polite as he can force himself to be, professional to the point of rigidity.

What infuriates Yifan the most is the way Dr. Lee doesn't bother to communicate with Yixing, at _all_. He doesn't bother to sign when he speaks - even though Yifan _knows_ he knows how - and when Yixing asks questions or tries to talk to Dr. Lee, he gets ignored. After half a dozen attempts, Yixing gives up trying to get to know the elder doctor, and pouts about it until Yifan gives him a swift hug behind Lee's back when Lee's busy with other things.

Yixing misses Baekhyun like crazy, too, it's so obvious and it practically breaks Yifan's heart. He spends a big chunk of the day wondering if he could possibly sneak Baekhyun into the lab later that night so they could see each other, and then guiltily wondering if it isn't better that they're separated, considering Baekhyun's outburst earlier. He keeps reassuring Yixing that this is temporary - just until they figure out how to duplicate Yixing's radiation-cleansing effect.

That part is the only part Lee actually has any valuable input to add. He's abrasive about it, but the man does know his medications, and comes up with half a dozen possible methods of delivery that Yifan and Dr. Cho hadn't even considered. The most promising one, Yifan thinks, is the aerosol delivery; if they can figure out the chemical reactions that allow Yixing to process radiation, they could duplicate the chemicals, and inhaling the medication would probably be faster and more effective than consuming it.

Things are going as well as can be expected until midafternoon, when Dr. Lee orders Yifan to break off a piece of live vine from Yixing for study.

Yifan stares at him incredulously. "You're asking me to... rip a piece of his body off?"

Lee flaps a hand. "It will grow back, won't it?"

"You do realize he feels pain, right?" Yifan honestly can't believe this. Lee really thinks Yixing is just a plant, he doesn't understand at all. "Would you chop off your finger for anyone who asked?"

Yellow eyes regard him flatly. "If it would grow back, and it could lead to a cure for a disease that kills _ten thousand people a year_ , yeah, I would."

Yifan finds that really hard to believe, but he can't argue it without sounding like a tool. Instead, he looks beseechingly to Dr. Cho for help.

Cho turns to Yixing. "Yixing," he signs, his voice soft. "Dr. Lee would like to study a living piece of your body. Are you willing to give him one?"

Cocking his head, Yixing considers this. _How big a piece?_

They both look at Dr. Lee, who shrugs, uninterested. "Big enough to be worth studying."

That's unhelpfully vague. Yifan's lip twists and he opens his mouth, but his boss cuts him off. "What about the same size as the piece that accidentally broke off of you before?" Dr. Cho suggests.

_Yixing, you don't have to do this,_ Yifan signs quickly, keeping his hands obscured by his body so Dr. Lee can't easily read them. _You can say no. You don't have to._

_But it might help, yes?_ Yixing asks innocently.

_We can find a way to do it without injuring you._

Shaking his head, Yixing signs, _This will be faster. Faster is better. I miss Baekhyun._

Yifan's eyes widen as he realizes what Yixing is thinking - the faster a cure is found, the faster he will be allowed to see Baekhyun again. Yifan had only meant to reassure Yixing, but Yixing is understanding it as if it is a _bribe_.

The idea that he's unintentionally coerced Yixing into cooperating by using his affection for Baekhyun against him makes Yifan feel suddenly ill. He scrambles to try to come up with something to say, something that won't make this worse, but before he can do so, a single vine snakes up from Yixing's waistband, and Yixing deftly snaps off the end.

Horrified, Yifan can only watch as Yixing presents a living, still twitching piece of his own flesh to Dr. Lee. Lee takes it with a smirk and not a word of thanks, and disappears back into the office.

Yifan takes a very deep, very shuddery breath, holding back the urge to vomit.

"Yixing," Dr. Cho signs, "thank you. That is very selfless of you. I promise we will make certain your sacrifice is worth it." He glances up at Yifan, but Yifan is not 100% certain he won't just puke if he attempts to speak. "Is there anything we can do for the pain? Or to help you heal?"

Yixing smiles at him. It's strained, not at all his usual brilliance. _Cool water would feel good,_ he signs.

"I'll get it," Yifan whispers, and moves. He fills a plastic cup with cool water from the sink, kicking himself for not thinking to ask that question.

The end of Yixing's vine is dripping pink, oozing from the fresh wound. It's too alien to look gory to Yifan's eyes, but he knows that's what it is, no less horrifying than the stump of a missing limb. He holds out the cup, and Yixing dips his vine inside, relaxing a little as the end is submerged.

Yixing takes the cup from him, holding it close. _I will be okay, Yifan,_ he signs with his other hand. _I will heal._

That really does not make Yifan feel better. Yixing should not feel like he has to reassure Yifan, though, that's so backwards it makes his head spin. So he tries to relax, tries to stop projecting how upset he is. "Yixing," he says, "in my profession we take an oath never to cause harm to anyone. It upsets me that Dr. Lee asked you to do this at all. He took this oath, too."

_He is doing it for the same reasons we are doing it,_ Yixing signs. _He wants to help people._ With a soft smile, Yixing reaches up and cups the side of Yifan's face. "I'm good, Yifan," he whispers.

Yifan cups Yixing's hand with his own. "I worry that you're _too_ good," he murmurs, but he doesn't sign it, because he's pretty sure Yixing won't understand what he means.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Baekhyun is more than a little surprised when he comes home after his shift, late at night, and finds Yifan sitting in the hall outside his door.

He halts and stares. Yifan takes a moment to look up, even though Baekhyun knows he knows he's there. When he does look up, his expression makes Baekhyun sigh and unlock his door. "Come on in," he murmurs.

Yifan gets to his feet and follows him inside. Once the door closes, Baekhyun strips off his radiation cloak and rests his hand on Yifan's shoulder.

"Rough day?" he asks.

Snorting bitterly, Yifan says, "Oh yeah. Pretty damn bad."

Baekhyun waits, but Yifan is holding himself back, not moving closer, not touching Baekhyun. He clearly needs to be touched, though - Baekhyun knows how Koharans get when they're upset - so Baekhyun sighs and steps closer, right into Yifan's embrace.

Immediately, Yifan folds around him, enveloping him. He lets out a deep breath, and then pushes his face into Baekhyun's shoulder, breathing his scent. Baekhyun spreads his stance, taking more of Yifan's weight, and holds him.

Big hands clench into Baekhyun's shirt. "Thanks," Yifan mutters. "I needed this."

"Did you eat?" Baekhyun asks.

"Yeah, before I came over here." Yifan sighs again. "I was going to stay the night again, but Dr. Cho kicked me out. I didn't think I'd get any sleep if I tried to sleep alone, so..."

Baekhyun huffs. "Dr. Cho is right. You look like crap." He pulls back a little. "You need to be on top of your game, right? So this is all over quickly?"

Closing his eyes, Yifan sighs yet _again_. "Yeah. I mean... we actually made some progress today. And by _some progress_ , I mean we ruled out a couple of possibilities, not that we actually found anything. But that's progress. I guess."

Reaching behind Yifan's head, Baekhyun starts unpinning Yifan's hair. "It's only been three days," he points out. "No one is expecting you to magically produce a new medication in three days."

"Yes, but the longer we take, the longer you and Yixing are separated." Baekhyun runs his fingers through Yifan's hair, pulling his braid apart, and Yifan tilts his head and rumbles a little purr under his breath. "I'm hoping if I play nice for long enough, Lee will let you come see him. Or let me take him outside for a couple of hours. Or _something_."

Baekhyun snorts. "Don't hold your breath. That man has a pathological need to be in control. He isn't going to let Yixing go until he's gotten what he wants." Yifan's hair is loose around his shoulders now, hanging in a soft, wavy curtain down to the bottom of his ribs. It's so beautiful. "I really hope that once he has it, he loses interest in Yixing."

Leaning in to Baekhyun's touch, Yifan's eyes slit open, deep purple with black pupils that widen as he takes in Baekhyun's face. "I'm pretty sure he has no interest in Yixing anyway," he says. "Only the possibilities he represents. Once we figure out how to replicate the cure, I'm sure he won't care what Yixing does." He sighs once more. "I wish I had a clue how long it's going to take, though. This is excruciating."

Sliding his hand into Yifan's - not intertwining fingers, just palm-to-palm - Baekhyun tugs Yifan over to the couch. "Well, hopefully, by the time you get there, we'll have gotten Yixing full citizenship, _and_ found a way to ensure he gets a fair cut of the profits from the medication." Yifan looks at him in surprise, and Baekhyun smiles slightly. "And you, too. Can't let Dr. Lee take all the credit, can we?"

Silver brows furrow. "I'm not doing this for the _money_ , Baekhyun."

"Of course you aren't. But Dr. Lee _is_. I'm not saying you should try and cheat the hospital out of the profits; I'm just trying to make sure _you_ don't get cheated. And if Yixing is going to live here for an undetermined amount of time, he will need an income. Something like this would set him up for a lifetime." He tries not to let shadows flit through his eyes. "And if he's comfortable and happy, he'll stay for longer, right?"

Yifan studies his face, then pulls him in close. "Please be careful," he begs softly. "Don't do anything you can't take back, until it's absolutely necessary. There's _so much_ that could go wrong."

Baekhyun knows that Yifan is worried about the general public finding out about Yixing, so he nods, and says, "I'll be careful." Even though he's pretty sure it _will_ become necessary, he promises anyway, because Yifan isn't wrong to worry.

Baekhyun's just pretty sure Yifan still hasn't realized how dire things already are. But there's nothing to be done that night, and Yifan is clearly mentally exhausted, so Baekhyun scoots over to the end of the couch and pulls Yifan down until his head is pillowed on Baekhyun's thigh. Humming, Yifan gets comfortable, and Baekhyun puts on something brainless on the entertainment screen.

They stay like that for a good hour, talking occasionally about the foibles of the characters in the drama and with Baekhyun running his fingers through Yifan's hair. It seems to be just what Yifan needs; Baekhyun can feel the tension slowly leaking out of Yifan's body.

The episode ends, and Yifan rolls onto his back, his hair blanketing Baekhyun's legs, hanging nearly to the floor. “Hi, beautiful,” he murmurs.

“Hi, handsome,” Baekhyun teases, and Yifan smiles. He reaches up, and Baekhyun leans down, kissing him sideways.

Long, warm fingers slide into Baekhyun's hair. Very sharp teeth scrape delicately over his lower lip, and Baekhyun moans softly as arousal begins to stir.

“Mmm.” Yifan stops and takes a deep breath. “You smell…” He rolls closer, burying his face in Baekhyun's stomach. “Very good,” he mumbles into Baekhyun's shirt.

Laughing, Baekhyun strokes his hand down Yifan's side. “You _feel_ good,” he replies. “Scoot over.”

Yifan blinks at him, but Baekhyun just shoves his shoulders until he gets the idea. They rearrange, ending with Baekhyun squished between the back of the couch and Yifan's long body, pressed together as tightly as possible. He burrows into Yifan's embrace and pulls Yifan’s hand up to his mouth.

A long, lean thigh slides between his. Baekhyun looks up and finds Yifan watching him, his pupils blown dark.

“I owe you an apology,” Baekhyun says softly. Yifan raises an eyebrow, and Baekhyun quirks a smile at him. “What I said earlier, at the culturehouse. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”

Lips press warmly to his forehead. “I know you didn’t,” Yifan murmurs. “If you really believed I was that kind of person, you wouldn’t have let me into your apartment tonight.”

Baekhyun laughs. “That’s true,” he says. “Still. I am sorry. Sometimes my mouth runs off without my brain.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine.” Baekhyun gently kisses the side of one of Yifan’s fingers, and Yifan sighs sharply, his thigh twitching between Baekhyun’s knees. “We all say shit we don’t - ahh - mean.” His breathing gets heavier as Baekhyun adds more tongue. “You’re trying to distract me from your apology,” he accuses.

Baekhyun grins at him, cheeky. “Is it working?”

With a mock-growl, Yifan pushes him over, rolling himself on top. Baekhyun laughs and squeezes Yifan close, burying his face in Yifan’s neck and marvelling at how heavy and hot Yifan’s entire body feels.

“This would be a lot better if we were naked,” he muses.

“Mmm. Need help with that?” Yifan purrs in his ear.

They get naked in record time, and Baekhyun pulls Yifan back down on top of himself. Oh yes, he was right - this is _much_ better. He hums happily and rolls his body up, luxuriating in the feeling of all that smooth, hot skin against his own.

Yifan groans, and something thick nudges between Baekhyun’s thighs. Baekhyun immediately reaches down and tugs Yifan up higher, laying kisses on Yifan’s chest and kneading his hands into Yifan’s tight ass as Yifan braces himself on his elbows on either side of Baekhyun’s ears.

“What’s this?” he teases, rubbing and squeezing at the head of Yifan’s cock with his thighs. “I don’t have to beg you to let it out this time?”

“You’re _wiggling_ ,” Yifan rumbles, as if that explains it. “Ahh, fuck, I can’t -” His spine shudders, and his massive cock slides forward in one strong thrust, shoving hard between Baekhyun’s legs and bumping right into his asshole. It’s too wide to just slip inside, but the pressure on his rim makes Baekhyun keen, all the breath knocked from his lungs. “Nnnngh. Sorry.”

Baekhyun muffles his laugh in Yifan’s chest. “No worries,” he murmurs, licking over the place where Yifan’s nipple would be if he was human. Koharans don’t have them. “You feel _great_. Mmm, I want you inside me.”

A huff stirs Baekhyun’s hair. “You keep saying that. I’m starting to think you mean it.”

“Of course I _mean it_. I am a man of my word.” Baekhyun takes stock of his body, feeling out how his dinner is sitting in his stomach, whether he has to pee, how tired he is. He feels pretty good physically tonight, and he doesn’t have to be in to work tomorrow until the evening, and both of them could use a break from reality, so he goes for it. “As a matter of fact, let’s try tonight.”

Yifan pulls back and looks Baekhyun in the eye, studying his expression. “You’re sure?” he asks quietly.

His concern is sweet. “I’m sure. I promise I’ll tell you if it gets too much.”

Yifan ducks his head, his smile half hidden by the curtain of his hair. “Okay,” he agrees. “Do you want to prepare yourself?”

He’s so considerate, so careful. It makes Baekhyun smile. “No, you do it,” he requests. “I love your hands.”

“As you wish,” Yifan murmurs, and leans down to kiss Baekhyun softly. Or at least, he tries to kiss him softly, but Baekhyun immediately deepens it, nipping at Yifan’s lips and licking into his mouth. He’s aiming to get Yifan going, to get him ramped up, and it doesn’t take too long for him to get the reaction he wants. When he scrapes his teeth along Yifan’s tongue, Yifan groans, and his cock throbs heavily, a strong pulse of arousal that smears precome against Baekhyun’s ass.

Fuck, he’s so big, and he feels _so good_.

When Yifan slides to Baekhyun’s side, moving so he can get his hand between them, Baekhyun rolls up onto his own side as well. He gets comfy, pillowing his head on Yifan’s arm and throwing his knee over Yifan’s hip to open himself up, and watches with avid interest as Yifan’s big hand strokes over his even bigger cock, milking out a generous amount of precome. He gathers it up and lets his hand drift down. Baekhyun watches, fascinated, as his cock pulls back and away, arching back towards his stomach.

The first touch of Yifan’s slick fingers immediately makes Baekhyun moan and squirm, hiking his thigh up higher to give Yifan better access. Baekhyun fingers himself relatively often for someone who hasn’t had a lover with a cock in several years, but his fingers are very slim, and the difference between his own and Yifan’s is immensely obvious. Just one of Yifan’s fingers feels like two of his own, and Yifan starts right away with two, massaging the pads around Baekhyun’s rim until the numbing proteins in his precome do their work and his fingers slip inside.

Gasping, Baekhyun curls forward instinctively. He’s used to the alien weirdness of having something foreign up his ass, but the first bit is always a little more weird. To distract himself, he reaches for Yifan’s cock, taking it in both hands and examining it.

It’s very long and heavy. When he wraps one hand around the shaft, his fingers don’t touch. The line of muscles along the top resists his grip, until Yifan notices him tugging on it and relaxes, letting Baekhyun move it around. It’s very firm, but not as steel-hard as he knows it can be, which means Yifan’s not all the way aroused yet.

“God, this is beautiful,” Baekhyun mutters. Yifan chuckles and thrusts his fingers in, slow and deep, pushing a strangled moan up Baekhyun’s spine and out from his lips.

“We'll see if you think so in a few minutes,” Yifan murmurs, half warning and half teasing. Baekhyun bites at his lips and pulls Yifan's fingers in with his body, just to watch Yifan's eyes abruptly blacken. He's weaker inside than usual, his muscles numbed and relaxed, but it still has the desired effect.

Yifan adds a third finger, and Baekhyun arches, panting. The burn gives way to thick pleasure much quicker than usual, and the tingling, warming feeling is starting. Baekhyun can't help but to whine, squirming so hard he nearly knocks Yifan off the couch.

Yifan catches himself and huffs. “Maybe we should move this to the bedroom,” he murmurs. He moves to get up, but Baekhyun stops him.

“No, don't,” he says. “I want to stay out here.” Yifan blinks at him, and Baekhyun grins. “It’ll make it easier to ride you.”

When Yifan's cock kicks, it actually smacks Baekhyun in the stomach. Baekhyun laughs and grabs it, curling forward to kiss the tip. Slick precome makes his lips buzz. “Alright,” Yifan says breathlessly. “Whatever you want.”

Baekhyun grins and starts kissing Yifan's neck, as Yifan resumes his work.

“You're opening so easily,” Yifan murmurs. “Remind me to thank Yixing for stretching you out a few nights ago.”

The mention of Yixing makes Baekhyun's throat ache. “We’ll thank him together,” he says. “Ahhh, mmm, more, Yifan, I'm ready for more.”

Yifan swipes up more precome and then slides four fingers into Baekhyun's body at once, spreading them as he thrusts in the most amazing undulating motion. Baekhyun's entire lower body aches with pleasure, spine and hips and thighs. He goes limp in Yifan's arms, shivering, as he feels Yifan's thumb push past his rim.

Soon enough, Yifan stills, trailing kisses over Baekhyun's sweaty forehead. “I think you're ready,” he murmurs. He helps Baekhyun to get up on top of him, rearranging them so that he's sitting upright on the sofa and Baekhyun is settled astride his lap. It's a cozy enough position, but Baekhyun's ass feels uncomfortably stretched and open, and he doesn't want to wait any more.

He reaches back to pull Yifan's cock up to his ass, but Yifan is already there, his cock curving up at just exactly the right angle. Baekhyun's fingers find it just in time to feel it stiffen the rest of the way, tensing up.

Yifan's face is tense, as well. Baekhyun kisses him reassuringly, and then sits back, very, very slowly.

The head of Yifan's cock feels _fantastic_ as it slides inside him, so plump and soft, completely filling him with no pain at all. Baekhyun pushes back until he feels the head pop all the way in, and then stops there, his thighs quivering with the effort of holding himself halfway up. It's completely worth the strain, though, to watch Yifan's face contorting with pleasure, to feel his cock pulse as it dumps streams of slick precome into his channel.

“You okay?” he asks, breathless.

Yifan laughs, strangled. “I should be asking you that,” he whispers. “You are... You are _so tight_. Baekhyun, gods, fuck, holy -”

Pleased, Baekhyun smirks and wiggles his hips just a tiny bit, forcing the head of Yifan's cock to swivel inside him. Yifan's cock throbs so hard, it almost pulls out of Baekhyun's body, and Baekhyun squeaks and quickly leans back to get it seated more firmly.

“You feel so good, babe,” Baekhyun coos. “I could sit on your cock all night.”

Yifan groans. “That sounds like torture. But the good kind.” Long fingers and broad palms slide under Baekhyun's thighs, helping to take some of the strain. “Hang on.”

Baekhyun braces his hands on Yifan's arms, and Yifan's cock begins to move, pumping into him with small, slow motions, just a few centimeters. The friction is _intense_. Groaning, Baekhyun rests his head on Yifan's shoulder, and looks down between them to watch Yifan's cock sliding partially back into his sheath and then thrusting out again. It's unlike anything he's experienced before.

A rumbling moan is building in Yifan's chest. Baekhyun takes that as a compliment.

It doesn't take that long before the precome is spread all over everything and the friction subsides. Wanting more, Baekhyun slowly starts pushing his weight back.

Yifan's shaft breaches him, so much harder and less forgiving than his cockhead. It starts out smaller than the head, manageable, but quickly ramps up, thickening steadily, stretching Baekhyun more and more and increasing the friction between them until Baekhyun has to stop because he's shaking too hard. Yifan's grip on his shoulders is tight, his eyes wider than Baekhyun has seen. Baekhyun shoots him a shaky smile.

“You don't have to take more,” Yifan whispers, his concern scribbled all over him. “You already feel fantastic. This is enough.”

As if Baekhyun has _ever_ backed down from a challenge. A quick glance down shows that he's a little over halfway there, halted right above Yifan's knot, just barely beginning to swell.

But he does need a moment to get used to this, so he starts to rock back and forth, tiny motions that make stars burst behind his eyes. Groaning, Yifan squeezes his hips in a crushingly right grip and starts to thrust in earnest.

“Fuck.” It comes out a tiny whisper, because Baekhyun needs all the air he has to keep from passing out as the most intense pleasure of his life roars up his spine. He's _overwhelmingly_ full, stretched so wide. The head of Yifan's cock rubs slow and deep and touches literally every part of his insides; no spot is overlooked. And the shaft - so thick and hard, completely unyielding, taking him in a way nothing else ever has. Baekhyun's body flutters and clenches desperately. His thighs are starting to go numb.

It's worth it for the slack-jawed, glassy-eyed expression on Yifan's face though, for the overwhelmed tremble of his lean body and the frantic beat of his pulse visible his neck. He's stunning.

Baekhyun takes several deep breaths, relaxes as much as he is able, and then pushes back, forcing himself down until the growing bulb of Yifan's knot pops past his rim and his ass comes to rest on Yifan's hips.

Yifan doubles over, his forehead hitting Baekhyun's shoulder. He hangs on there and shudders violently, and Baekhyun holds him and tries very hard not to move, because there is a goddamn _battering ram_ up his ass. He's not sure he _can_ move.

Yifan knot throbs heavily inside him, pressing up against his prostate. Baekhyun whimpers, sounding pathetic even to his own ears, and immediately Yifan growls and pulls him closer, wrapping him up in a tight embrace. Silver hair falls over Baekhyun's shoulder, smooth as silk.

“I'm going to fuck you now,” Yifan murmurs. “If you want me to stop, you may have to hit me to get my attention.”

Koharans. “Thanks for the warning,” Baekhyun gasps. “Do it.”

Yifan lifts Baekhyun up by the hips, braces his feet on the floor, and thrusts. Baekhyun turns his face and muffles his scream by biting in to Yifan's shoulder.

Each time he pulls out, it seems to take hours. Each time he thrusts in, it feels like miles. Baekhyun's senses get overwhelmed very quickly, and he floats, hovering on a knife's edge between pleasure and pain, between sensation and darkness, everything else in his mind driven away.

That is, until Yifan's knot swells so large he doesn't dare try to pull it out again, and he stills, breathing like he's just run up sixteen flights of stairs. The pressure inside Baekhyun's body is reaching unbearable levels, a fist-sized rock of flesh pressing against Baekhyun's prostate, and Baekhyun's suddenly aware that he's furiously hard and aching to come.

Baekhyun rolls his hips. Just a little bit, but it takes all his strength, everything he has left.

It's enough. The friction on his prostate does what he needs, and orgasm wells up. Baekhyun sees Yifan look up in shock, then just as quickly twist his face into agonized ecstasy. 

Baekhyun's orgasm takes him over, yanked out of him by force. Yifan holds him tightly as he shakes apart, murmuring to him an incomprehensible mix of ancient Koharan, modern Koharan, and Koharan Common. Baekhyun comes down to kisses trailed over his hair and heat all around him, surrounding him and impaling him and consuming him.

He collapses into Yifan’s arms and whimpers wordlessly into his skin as Yifan rocks his way to a much less desperate, but much longer and more bountiful orgasm. 

After, Yifan’s knot stays huge, but his shaft relaxes, easing off the intense pressure. Baekhyun’s to exhausted to move, so he just stays there in Yifan’s arms for a long time, kissing each other’s fingers and bathing in the afterglow until finally they fall asleep, tipped over on the couch, still tied together.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

For all that he'd told Baekhyun that working with Dr. Lee was 'excruciating,' Yifan finds that it actually doesn't take that long for him to grow accustomed to it. It isn't _pleasant_ , but he does fall into a pattern after a few days.

It helps that he and Dr. Cho alternate who stays the night with Yixing. When it's his turn, Yifan comes in just as Dr. Lee is leaving, usually no more than an hour's overlap, and then gets the night alone with Yixing. And Baekhyun's arranged something with his co-workers so that he only works night shifts on days when Yifan does the same, so when Yifan has to work an entire shift with Lee, he at least has an evening with Baekhyun to look forward to.

His sleep schedule is a wreck, and he doesn't take full days off anymore. He can't afford to. Baekhyun and Yixing keep him sane, but their longing for each other is wearing on Yifan's psyche. They get more and more desperate the longer they are forced apart, and Yifan feels the pressure to find a solution like a crushing weight. He starts pulling twelve hour shifts, then fourteen hour shifts, staying later and working longer until there's nothing in his life but research, punctuated by short, fitful bouts of sleep in the arms of one lover or the other.

It would be great if he could slow down, but Yixing is a constant reminder that he has to move as fast as possible. They've brought in an artificial sun lamp, and Yixing has plenty of water and the radiation from Dr. Cho's body, but even so, he doesn't look as healthy as he did before. He's more sluggish, more wilted, and his smiles, while still beautiful, seem tired.

All Yifan has to do is look at Yixing, and his will is restored. He can't slow down.

Eventually, though, Cho orders him to leave the lab and not come back for two full days. "You can barely stand," he points out. "You're no good to anyone like this."

Yifan would love two days off, but one look at Yixing makes him protest. He argues with his boss for a couple of minutes, until Dr. Lee sticks his head out of the office and regards them both with an unimpressed sneer.

"Cho's right," Dr. Lee says, glancing up and down Yifan's body dismissively. "You're making stupid mistakes. Get out. I'm locking your ID out until the day after tomorrow."

Yifan bristles. "Let me take Yixing for a day then," he says desperately. "Just one day. He needs sunlight and air, he hasn't seen the outdoors in two weeks."

A snort. "Cute," Dr. Lee says. "No." The door to the office slams shut.

Until Dr. Cho's hands lock around his arm, Yifan doesn't even realize he's started forward, his body intent on knocking the door down and _making_ Lee let Yixing out. Cho pulls him up short, and Yifan groans, pulling his hand down his face.

"I'll work on him," Dr. Cho says under his breath. "If nothing else, I'll try to get Yixing to a room with a window. I'll come up with something. You need to go, seriously. You're _vibrating_."

Yifan stares at him, knowing his eyes are pleading and unable to stop.

Dr. Cho sighs. "If you don't go right now, you're going to bust in there and punch him." His voice is curiously flat, carefully reasonable. "If you punch him, you will get fired, and you will lose access to Yixing."

He's right, of course he's right. But Yifan hates it.

Yifan tells himself that when he kisses Yixing goodbye, right in front of Cho and with Lee able to walk in any moment, it's because Yixing needs the comfort. Not because he needs it himself.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan crashes at Baekhyun's apartment. Literally _crashes_ , face-first into the bed, and does not get up until well after Baekhyun does.

While he's passed out, Baekhyun checks in with Chanyeol. He only talks to his brothers via his home console, now - there's too much risk in contacting them from his comm.

_bbaek: what's our status?_

_pcwhy: welp_  
_pcwhy: good news and bad_  
_pcwhy: the good news is, kyungsoo got a judge to agree to see yixing in a private session_

Baekhyun's heart thunks so loudly, he half-expects it to wake Yifan in the next room.

_bbaek: and the bad news?_

_pcwhy: we didn't get a choice of court date_  
_pcwhy: yixing has to appear here, in person, in five days_  
_pcwhy: if he doesn't, we probably won't get another chance_

Shit. Baekhyun sits back in his chair, digesting that.

_bbaek: the chances of us convincing lee to let yixing leave the city on that short notice are basically nothing you realize_

_pcwhy: lee's not always there, right?_

_bbaek: yeah. cho won't let us take him either, tho, he plays by the rules. it'll have to be yifan, and it’ll have to be when he’s there alone._

_pcwhy: think you'll be able to convince him?_

Good question.

_bbaek: i'm gonna do my damndest._

_pcwhy: tell you what. you said he's got tomorrow off, right? we'll come down and talk to him._  
_pcwhy: kyungsoo can be very... persuasive._  
_pcwhy: with any luck, we'll be able to bring you and yixing back with us in time for the court date._

It's a long shot, but Baekhyun sees literally no other way.

_bbaek: guess I'll see you tomorrow, then._

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan understands what Baekhyun is saying. He _does_. It's just that he's already insanely stressed, he just woke up, and he _really_ doesn't like feeling ganged up on. Especially not by Chanyeol, who grates on Yifan's nerves on the _best_ of days.

As a result, the entire first half of his second day off is spent arguing.

It's not a pretty argument, though it is an awfully passionate one. Yifan comes face-to-face with Chanyeol's lawyer side, which is more than a little disconcerting, and the human man they've brought with them, despite being half Yifan's size, is sharp-tongued enough to make Yifan go on the defensive, his metaphorical hackles raised.

Sehun is the only one who stays out of the argument, until the very end, when he says, "Look, you guys can argue the ethics of this until the sun dies, but you're kind of missing the point, here."

All eyes turn to him.

Impassive, Sehun only blinks. "Yifan, I get that you're worried this will get out to the general public, I really do. But you're not arguing that we should _never_ do this, right? That we should _never_ get Yixing full citizenship?"

Yifan frowns. "No, of course I'm not."

Sehun spreads his hands. "Then there's no argument. This is literally our only chance. The judge agreed to this as a special favor to Kyungsoo, and she made it very clear it was a one-time offer. No other judge is going to allow a private audience without knowing why. If we don't take advantage of this now, the only way to do it will be publicly." He glances around. "I think we all agree that would be much worse, yes?"

His point is compelling. Yifan tries to find a counter-argument, but he's got nothing left. Everyone in the room knows the risks - but Sehun is right, if they don't do this now, the risks will be far higher when they do end up doing it.

He drops his head into his hands. "What can we do to keep this as controlled as possible?" he mumbles.

The room breathes a sigh of relief, and Yifan doesn't look up. He doesn't like thinking he's the only one causing problems here, the only one not in agreement.

As the lawyers start talking about what comes after they get Yixing back to the hospital - how they will present the change in the situation to Dr. Lee, how they will use it to secure more humane working circumstances and begin negotiations for a contract - Baekhyun slides up against Yifan's side and presses a kiss to the back of his hand. "Thank you," he whispers.

Yifan shakes his head, feeling vaguely nauseous. "Don't. I'm still not sure this is a good idea."

Baekhyun leans his head on Yifan's shoulder, rubs a comforting hand over his thigh. "Yixing's not alone," he says. "And neither are you. We'll figure this out."

"I love you."

At his side, Baekhyun goes still. So does everyone else.

Realizing what he just said, Yifan's eyes widen. "Shit. Sorry. That just... slipped out."

Chanyeol leans over, hands braced on his knees, and regards Yifan curiously. "Just how fucking tired _are_ you?"

"Chanyeol," Sehun warns.

"Alphas don't just _say that_ , Hun."

Sehun tugs Chanyeol out of Yifan's face, and Yifan takes a deep breath and glances at Baekhyun.

"Did you mean it?" Baekhyun asks.

At least he knows the answer. "Yeah. Didn't mean to say it right at this moment, but... Yeah."

Baekhyun's lip twitches. "Very tired, huh?"

Yifan's insides are doing the lambada. He's not even entirely certain what the lambada _is_ \- some esoteric human thing? - but that's what's happening in his stomach.

Slowly, conversation resumes. Baekhyun doesn't say anything else about it - but his fingers slide up Yifan's arm, tugging his hand down between their thighs, and there, hidden away from the rest of the room, he tangles their fingers together.

Squeezing his hand, Yifan smiles.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

The plan is for Yifan to sneak Yixing out the night before his court date.

It makes sense. Yifan's first shift back after his forced leave is a day shift; Dr. Lee will be there the entire time. But the one after that is a night shift. Yifan will get Yixing out while the hospital is quiet, and the rest of them will be waiting in Chanyeol's big, fancy-pants transport, and they'll fly across the wastes that night and be ready for the court appointment in the morning. If they leave immediately after, Yixing will be gone for less than a day, which should hopefully mitigate some of the wrath Lee might bring down on them.

"Not that his wrath will have any bite," Kyungsoo had said, "once it's established that Yixing has to be treated like a person, not property. You can't file a missing person report until the person's been gone at least one day, and you can’t force a person to remain in the hospital against their will. He'll have no legal ground to stand on."

"What if he fires me?" Yifan had asked.

Chanyeol's grin was so predatory, Yifan can still see it behind his eyelids. "If he fires you for acting in the best interests of _your patient_ , then we sue him for unlawful retaliation on top of medical malpractice and patient abuse, and take him for everything he's got."

Yifan is glad he isn't a lawyer.

Anyway, that's the plan. One shift with Dr. Lee, business as usual. Then, tomorrow night, they move.

The moment Yifan gets to the lab, though, he instinctively feels that something isn't right. The air inside the lab smells like decay and strangers, and Yixing doesn't greet him, doesn't even look up when he comes in. He's just sitting on the bed, wedged into the corner, resting his head listlessly against the wall.

Yifan doesn't even bother to greet his co-workers, who are in the far corner of the lab having some hushed but fast-paced conversation. He goes straight to Yixing, throwing professionalism out the door and climbing up onto the bed.

When the bed shifts, Yixing finally looks up. His eyes look... _dry_. It's hard to describe, exactly, but they seem a little shriveled, too small for their sockets. When he smiles at Yifan, the skin around his lips cracks.

_You're sick,_ Yifan signs. _Aren't you? You don't look well._

"I'm... good... Yifan," Yixing says, so softly it can't be heard at all, and Yifan only understands because he reads the words on Yixing's cracking lips. Why didn't he sign? Instinctively, Yifan looks down, at where Yixing's hands are resting in his lap.

Several of his fingers are gone.

Cold fury washes over Yifan's mind. He presses a firm kiss to Yixing's forehead, and then gets off the bed and stalks right over to where Dr. Lee and Dr. Cho are arguing in the corner.

"I was gone for two days," Yifan snarls, making them both look up. "Two. What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing, Lee?!"

Dr. Lee cocks his head incredulously. "What are you on about?"

Yifan is so furious, he almost bursts into laughter. "What am I _on_ about?! _His. Fingers. Are. Gone._ "

"Ah." Disinterested, Dr. Lee turns back to the clipboard in his hand. "Yes, that surprised me, as well. I found him that way when I came in this morning. Apparently, he donated them." He shoots a glance at Dr. Cho.

Ice pours down Yifan's spine. He turns to his boss, not having to voice the question all over his face.

Dr. Cho looks uncomfortable, and won't meet his eyes. "Yixing and I had a long talk last night," he says, uncharacteristically hesitant. "He asked me if more pieces of himself would speed up the research."

This isn't happening. Yifan isn't hearing this. "And you said _yes?!_ "

"It's true! More material to work with can only help! Yixing needs results as much as we do."

Something about the way he says it makes the pieces fall into place. "The board's putting pressure on you, aren't they?" Yifan asks softly, holding back the infuriated betrayal in his voice. "They want results. They want this medication, and you didn't tell them just exactly what it would cost."

Yifan can smell Cho's guilt, even if it wasn't written all through his body language. "They asked if there were any human test subjects involved," he murmurs miserably. "I said no."

Too late, Yifan sees all too clearly that Baekhyun was right. Without knowledge that the law sees Yixing as a person, it's too easy for people to rationalize his mistreatment away. "I trusted you," he snarls, not bothering to hide his disgust. "I trusted you to treat him like you would any other patient, but that's not what he is to you, is he? He's not _technically_ human, so what does it matter, right?"

"Dr. Wu -"

"That's right. _Doctor_. Sworn to serve and protect, to _do no harm_. Like you both supposedly are. You're both disgraces to the fucking profession." Dr. Lee looks up at that, affronted, but Yifan is so completely past caring. It's taking all he has not to get violent, his alpha instincts roaring to the surface. "This project is over, and we're leaving. Fire me if you like, I won't work for a coward like you."

He stalks back across the room to the bed. Yixing looks up, so weak and wilted, and Yifan can't take this anymore, he can't not act. _Would you like to go outside?_ he signs quickly.

A little bit of light comes back to Yixing's eyes, painfully hopeful. "Yes," he mouths, silent but understandable. It's all the permission Yifan needs - he slides his arms under Yixing's curled-up body and carefully lifts him from the bed.

When he turns, Dr. Lee is there.

"No," Lee says. "He doesn't leave."

Only Yixing's weight in his arms keeps Yifan from knocking that hateful man right on his ass. "He's _dying_ ," he snaps.

"He's perfectly fine. He's had plenty of water and plenty of radiation from the patients we've brought in."

Yifan's eyes widen. That's why it smells like strangers. "You've been bringing in radiation patients?" he asks, horrified. "You've just been exposing them to him, without having any idea of the consequences?"

A contemptuous eyebrow. "Isn't that exactly what you did?"

" _By accident!_ I'm not forcing him to _live_ off of the radiation alone, like some kind of - some kind of _vampire!_ "

"Your accusations are _entirely_ unfounded. You're acting erratic, Dr. Wu. Clearly, you're compromised. I think it's best I remove you from this project."

"You're going to be removing my _fist_ from your _teeth_ in a second!"

"And now you're threatening me. Threatening me, and attempting to steal research material from the hospital." Dr. Lee takes a step backwards and reaches for the case that's next to the door to every room in the hospital. "A shame, really. I did warn you that I would have you arrested."

Yifan's eyes widen, but he's not fast enough. Dr. Lee brings his hand up, and Yifan feels the dart hit him in the shoulder. He goes down.

It's fast. The sedative is meant to take down unstable Koharans instantaneously; a necessary precaution when half of the populace is twice the size of the other. Yifan has only enough clarity to catch himself with his hands before he crushes Yixing, instinctively rolling to the side to avoid landing on top of him.

Then, the room goes dark.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Everyone in the room stares at Baekhyun, who has just leapt to his feet and is probably white as a sheet.

“Say that again,” Baekhyun requests. “I can’t have heard that right.”

_“Yifan just got carted off to the police station,”_ Tao says again in his ear. _“At least, that’s what I was told. I didn’t see it myself.”_

Chanyeol’s hand is sliding over Baekhyun’s shoulder reassuringly. He must look completely freaked out. He certainly _feels_ completely freaked out.

“Who told you this?” he asks, shaky. “And when was it?”

_“Taekwoon did. They took Yifan out through the EC on a stretcher this morning, he was unconscious. Taekwoon overheard the officers saying Yifan was under arrest for attempting to steal hospital property.”_ Baekhyun lets out a long, shaky breath. _“Baek, are you ever going to tell me what the fuck is going on? Yifan would_ never _steal from the hospital. I know him better than that.”_

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Baekhyun says quickly.

_“But you’re not scheduled until later tonight.”_

“I know. Is it busy?”

_“Nah. Kinda dead, actually.”_

“Do me favor and keep one of the exam rooms open. See you in a few.” He hangs up. “Yifan got arrested.”

His brothers exchange an alarmed look. “What for?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Attempting to steal hospital property. He has to have been trying to get Yixing out, there’s nothing else it could be.”

Chanyeol swears. “Why couldn’t he have just waited until tomorrow night, like we planned? Fuckin’ idiot.”

Baekhyun rounds on him. “Shut the fuck up, Yeol. If Yifan decided to move now, he must have had a damn good reason, and that probably means Yixing was in immediate danger. He didn’t even want to go through with this plan, there’s absolutely no other reason he would have risked it.” He heads for the door and starts pulling on his outerwear. “I have to get to Yixing _right now_.”

“We’ll go with you,” Chanyeol says, and lurches to his feet. Sehun and Kyungsoo quickly follow suit.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Baekhyun mutters, but it's pretty clear they've made up their minds. "Fine. Please do not get me fired. Or arrested, since apparently that's a thing I need to worry about now."

"Yeol _specializes_ in putting people in jail," Sehun points out dryly.

Chanyeol stuffs his feet into his shoes. "Doesn't mean I don't know how to get them back out again. You're gonna need our help, Baek."

"Plus," Kyungsoo says, "Chanyeol is the only person in this room with access to a transport, right now."

They have good points. "Alright, let's go then," Baekhyun agrees.

The ride to the hospital is short, just enough time for Baekhyun to repeat the details of his conversation with Tao so everyone is on the same page. In minutes, the four of them are walking into the emergency center. Tao looks up from the desk when they do, eyes widening when he recognizes Baekhyun's brothers, and gestures for them to follow him into an examination room.

"Okay, Baek, I really need you to tell me what the _fuck_ is going on," Tao mutters, quiet but anxious.

"Unfortunately," Baekhyun says, "I don't have time right now." He turns to the others. "I'm going to go up and check on the labs. Wait here."

Tao steps into his path, wide-eyed and brow-furrowed. " _Stop shutting me out._ Yifan is my _friend_."

Baekhyun opens his mouth to tell him to move, but Sehun beats him to it. "I'll fill him in, Baek," he says. "We might need his help."

Blowing out a breath, Baekhyun nods. "Yeah. Do that."

"Tao, can you point out the nurse who witnessed Yifan being taken?" Chanyeol asks. "I'd like to ask him a few questions."

Tao blinks. "Taekwoon? Sure. He's the dark-haired omega resetting exam room 3. Should be done in a minute."

Chanyeol flashes him a thumbs-up and Baekhyun a reassuring smile, and leaves the room. Baekhyun follows him out.

He's halfway across the EC when he realizes Kyungsoo is keeping pace beside him. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"Going with you," Kyungsoo says calmly. "If people are getting wrongfully arrested, you shouldn't be going alone."

Baekhyun can't think of an argument, so he just silently leads the way, up the stairs and into the labs. The secured lab is locked to him now, but there's a bell on the door. Baekhyun rings it.

For a long moment, there's no response. Baekhyun rings it again, and again, and finally, the door opens. It's Dr. Cho.

"We need to see Yixing," Baekhyun says without preamble.

"Nurse Byun?" Confused, Dr. Cho looks between them. "Who is this?"

"My name is Do Kyungsoo," Kyungsoo says crisply, "and I am Yixing's lawyer."

It's the perfect thing to say, and Baekhyun wishes he'd thought of it. Dr. Cho pales. "Yixing's _lawyer?_ "

Kyungsoo flips his comm open, brings up his license to practice, and turns the device to display it. "Personal and civil rights lawyer, yes. And I would like to speak with my client. Please let us in." 

His words are polite, but his tone is steely. Dr. Cho tries, unsuccessfully, to hide his wince. "Yixing is... not here."

Baekhyun's gut drops out. "What do you mean, he's _not here?_ "

"Dr. Lee moved him this morning. To... another facility."

"To _another hospital?_ "

Dr. Cho winces again and nods. "For his own safety."

Baekhyun's _this close_ to advancing on the man. He's so furious, he almost can't see straight. Kyungsoo lets his hand drop to his side, gently touching his open comm to Baekhyun's wrist, reminding him silently to stay calm. "Dr. Cho, correct?" Kyungsoo says. Cho responds with an affirmative noise. "Please elaborate on what you mean by _for his own safety._ "

Cho looks to Baekhyun with a question in his eyes. Baekhyun crosses his arms angrily and silently thanks Chanyeol for bringing Kyungsoo into this. "Kyungsoo is Yixing's lawyer. You can speak freely."

Biting his lip, Cho looks back to Kyungsoo. "Not in the hall. Come in."

They follow Dr. Cho into the lab. Sure enough, it's empty; sure enough, the sedative dart-gun by the door is empty too. Baekhyun's anger fills his throat; he's going to choke on it.

The door closes, and Dr. Cho turns. "You know what Yixing... is? What he was doing here?"

"Yixing is a sentient, plant-like alien being," Kyungsoo says, his tone still perfectly professional, like that statement is totally normal. "It was discovered that he has a natural ability to reduce K-radiation damage in humans. He agreed, freely, to participate in a research project with the goal of duplicating this effect and creating a cure for radiation poisoning. Is this true?"

Cho looks completely unnerved. "Yes... yes, that's exactly what happened. And you know the lead researcher, Dr. Wu?"

Kyungsoo's stare is black and unblinking. "We've met, yes."

While Cho is busy with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun slowly starts making his way around the lab, looking around for signs of anything that might help them, anything that might give him a clue where Yixing has been taken.

"Dr. Wu has been working extremely long shifts on this project," Dr. Cho is saying. "Dr. Lee sent him home for two days, but nevertheless the stress seems to have taken a toll on his mental state. This morning, he attempted to take Yixing out of the labs."

Cocking his head, Kyungsoo asks, "Why was this a concern?"

"Well... Yixing was confined to the lab."

"Yixing was a voluntary research patient, yes? Was he not free to come and go as he pleased?"

Cho's absolutely gnawing on his lip, now. Baekhyun wishes he could enjoy watching the man squirm, but he's too anxious, himself.

"It was Dr. Lee's order," Cho says quickly. "He didn't really explain his reasoning to me."

"You didn't question it?" Kyungsoo asks quietly. "Is it common for a research patient to be forcibly held in a locked lab?"

Baekhyun turns his head away so Cho won't see his expression. "No," Dr. Cho says. "No, this was a special case."

"This lab doesn't have any windows," Kyungsoo observes. "Yixing is in many ways similar to a plant. It is my understanding that he needs sunlight and water, at a minimum, to survive. Is this true?" Cho nods. "Yes? Then, if he was not allowed to leave the lab, how were you keeping him alive?"

Pointing at the lamp in the corner, Cho says, "We had a sunlight bulb, and he was given water from the sink. The bulb doesn't give off radiation, but he fed on that from my body until I was clean, and then I brought in radiation patients from the ward downstairs for him to feed from. It should have been more than sufficient."

"Were the patients aware of who and what Yixing is, and why they were brought into his presence?"

“I wasn’t always here when they were brought in, I can’t be certain - ”

“Dr. Cho, please just answer the question. Were the patients made aware of who and what Yixing is?”

"...No."

Kyungsoo shows no reaction. Cho has completely forgotten Baekhyun is there, so Baekhyun slips into the office in the back, Dr. Lee's office. Their conversation becomes muffled.

He digs through Dr. Lee's desk, but there's no paperwork of any kind laying around, and the console is locked. Of course, since both Dr. Cho and Yifan would have access to this office, Dr. Lee wouldn't leave anything laying out.

Baekhyun's just about given up when he spots something in the corner. It's a shallow dish of water under a lamp - currently off, which is why he didn't see it immediately - and there's something in the dish.

When Baekhyun realizes what they are, he has to choke back vomit.

Carefully, he picks up one of Yixing's fingers. The skin is so pale it's nearly translucent, but there's still an indent for his fingernail, made of slightly firmer skin. The base is half scabbed over, the flesh at the bottom oddly dry. It squirms feebly in his hand, reflexively trying to curl around his own finger.

Baekhyun takes it back out to the main lab.

"What is this?" he asks, loud and shakily. Kyungsoo and Dr. Cho look up, and Baekhyun holds his hand out.

Cho's eyes widen. Kyungsoo comes over to Baekhyun's side and looks in his hand.

"...That looks like a finger."

"That's exactly what it is, isn't it?" Baekhyun accuses. "It's Yixing's finger. There were four more in a dish in the office, and three pieces of vine." Kyungsoo meets his eyes, and this close, Baekhyun can see past his mask of professionalism to the horror he's hiding. "That's _eight_. Eight separate chunks of Yixing's flesh which have been chopped off him for... for what, Dr. Cho?"

"...For study," Cho says lamely.

Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo. "This is why Yifan was trying to get Yixing out," he says. "I'll bet you anything, this is why. He found out they were _mutilating_ Yixing, and when he tried to save him, they sedated him and had him arrested."

"Is this what happened?" Kyungsoo asks Dr. Cho bluntly.

"I... not exactly? Yixing isn't _mutilated_. His body parts grow back as long as the central stem - his spine, I mean - is undamaged. He told me that himself. He consented to having the parts taken." Kyungsoo keeps staring at him, and looking nervous, Dr. Cho keeps talking. "Yifan clearly wasn't in his right mind, he was yelling and threatening Dr. Lee and me. He picked Yixing up and tried to take him out of the lab. That's when Dr. Lee sedated him, and had him arrested for stealing hospital property."

"Yixing _isn't property_ you -"

Kyungsoo silences Baekhyun with a hand on his wrist again. "Was Yixing resisting Dr. Wu's attempts to take him out of the lab?"

"...No. Yifan asked him if he wanted to leave before he picked him up. He said yes."

Nodding, like this was what he wanted to hear, Kyungsoo says, "One more question, Dr. Cho. Do you know where Yixing was taken?"

Cho deflates. "No," he says miserably. "I've been taken off the project as well." He sighs. "The worst part is, Dr. Lee doesn't even think we can use the pieces Yixing gave. He left them behind on purpose."

Baekhyun has never, in his life, contemplated murder as seriously as he is right now.

"Then it won't be an issue if we take them, will it?" Kyungsoo says, and honestly, Baekhyun has no idea how the hell the man is keeping his composure.

"I guess not. Maybe they can be re-attached, or... something."

Nodding, Kyungsoo glances at Baekhyun and jerks his head at the office. Taking the hint, Baekhyun goes back in and retrieves the shallow dish with Yixing's pieces inside.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Cho," Kyungsoo says, chilly. "I will call you if I need anything further." He reaches a hand out and guides Baekhyun by the elbow out the door.

Once the door to the lab is shut behind them and they're a few steps away, Kyungsoo snaps his comm shut. Baekhyun realizes he's had it open since he showed Dr. Cho his license, and in a flash, he guesses what just happened.

"You were recording him!" he hisses. "You just talked him through a witness statement!"

Dark eyes flick to meet his. "You bet your ass I was," Kyungsoo mutters. "That man is a coward, trying to straddle the line between right and wrong so whichever way the ball rolls, he comes out on top. I hate assholes like him, but they're easy to manipulate."

Baekhyun is _really_ glad Kyungsoo got involved. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm taking this to Yixing's court date. And those, too." He jerks his chin at the dish in Baekhyun's hands. "And any other evidence I can get my hands on. Will you come with me? An eyewitness would be the next best thing to having Yixing actually there."

Biting his lip, Baekhyun thinks about it. He wants the courts involved more than ever, and he believes, now, that Kyungsoo really considers Yixing his client, even having never met him. There's well-hidden fury behind Kyungsoo's calm facade.

But... "I don't know if I can bring myself to leave the city while Yixing is who-knows-where going through who-knows-what. I _have_ to find him. Can you take someone else with you? Sehun and Chanyeol have both met Yixing, they've had conversations with him and spent time with him."

Kyungsoo's lips purse thoughtfully. "Chanyeol's going to have his hands full getting Yifan out of jail," he says. "Sehun... maybe. I’ll ask him.” He huffs. “I’d really like to get my hands on a video recording of Yixing, too. Any ideas?”

“Um.” Baekhyun thinks about it. Has Yixing ever been on camera? “I think the only recordings of him would have been the security tapes at the hospital… and because of patient protection, only the people who are actually _in_ the recordings have access to them, unless there’s a court order.”

“Hmm. Well, I’d rather not let Cho know what we’re doing, and Yixing isn’t here to request. Asking Lee for a copy is out, obviously. If Chanyeol can get Yifan freed, he can request them, can’t he?”

“Yeah, he can.” Something occurs to Baekhyun. “Oh, but all you need to do to request is validate your identity with your comm device. It’s an automated process, since they can’t have just anyone manually looking the tapes over. Even if we can’t get Yifan out, if we can get our hands on his comm…”

Kyungsoo flips his own comm open. “I’ll message Yeol right now.”

They're almost to the EC. "I need to thank you for doing this," Baekhyun murmurs. "You're really going out of your way here, and you haven't even met Yixing."

A quirk of a smile, the first one Baekhyun has seen on the man. "He isn't the first client I've fought for sight unseen," he says. "My _job_ is helping those who are invisible and silent to be seen and heard. Cases like this are the reason I got into this business." He claps Baekhyun on the shoulder. "We'll make this right, Baekhyun. Yixing has a lot of good people on his side."

Baekhyun exhales. "I hope you're right."

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan doesn’t know how long he’s stuck in a jail cell before he hears from anyone. There’s no clocks in view, his comm has obviously been taken from him, and he isn’t even certain how long he was knocked out. The cell guard is willing to talk, briefly, but he won't say anything Yifan can use - not where he is, how long he’s been there, or what the charges are. All he’ll say is that he’s been advised that Yifan is to have no contact with anyone until further notice. He doesn't get a call, he can't let anyone know what happened. Yifan can’t even get ahold of someone to argue for his own release.

And in the meantime, he's acutely aware of the seconds ticking by. Yixing is out there somewhere, possibly in real danger, and Yifan can't do a single thing about it.

It feels like days before the door at the end of the hall opens and Yifan hears voices, but it's probably only hours. He picks up the scent before he recognizes the voice, and leaps to his feet.

"You can't be down here," the guard is protesting.

"The hell I can't," Chanyeol growls. "You have absolutely no right to be holding him like this.”

Yifan has never been so happy to hear someone so obnoxious in his life. He crowds to the side of the cell so he can crane his neck and look down the hallway. Chanyeol is dressed in a full, professional suit and is stalking forward like he's about the bring the hammer of justice down on anyone who gets in his way.

"Hey, man, I'm just doing what the chief officer ordered!"

Chanyeol puts a hand on the guard's shoulder. "My friend, let me tell you something about the chief officer. He's breaking several laws by holding this _innocent_ man without charges, without a warrant, without notification and without bail. Now I know an honest, upstanding member of law enforcement like yourself would never _knowingly_ participate in something like that." He raises an eyebrow. "Right?"

The guard looks back over his shoulder at Yifan, who tries to look as innocent as - well, as Yixing. Then he looks back at Chanyeol. "Are you this man's lawyer?"

Chanyeol doesn't even hesitate. "I am."

"Let me see your license."

Pulling out his comm, Chanyeol brings it up and shows it to him.

"Hmm." The guard hands the phone back. "Sir, every officer knows that you can't stand between a prisoner and his lawyer. It's the first thing they beat into your head in training." He glances back at Yifan again. "You have ten minutes."

He leaves.

"Yeol, you've got to get me out of here," Yifan gasps.

"Were you just watching that entire circus, or not?" Chanyeol snarks back. "I'm _working_ on it." He comes right up to the cell bars and holds up his hand. "Your doctor friend evidently has this entire precinct wrapped around his spindly fingers," he says, lowering his voice.

Yifan reaches through the bars and strokes three fingers between Chanyeol's. "Somehow, I'm not surprised," he murmurs. "How long have I been down here?"

Sighing, Chanyeol reaches both hands through the bars and clasps Yifan's shoulders. The touch, minimal though it is, eases something deep in Yifan's chest, something he hadn't realized was tight. Trust another Koharan to sense when he needs physical contact.

"It's nearing midnight," Chanyeol says. "There's no way I'm going to be able to get you out tonight, but I had to come see you. I knew you'd be going nuts down here." He snorts. "Took me three hours just to bully the beat cops into telling me where you'd been taken."

"Baekhyun?" Yifan asks. "Yixing? What's happening?"

"Baekhyun's working, he has a shift tonight. Listen, Yifan, I can't say a lot. You know this hallway is recorded, right?" He points at the security camera in the corner. "But I promise you, we're working on this. Both sides of this. Let Baek and Sehun and Kyungsoo worry about Yixing, okay? For right now, my goal is to get you out of here, and that's what I need you to concentrate on."

Just the knowledge that _something_ is being done, even if it's not him doing it, eases Yifan's mind a little. "I'll do my best," he says. "What do you need from me?"

Chanyeol's thumb rubs over his shoulder. "Tell me exactly what happened this morning."

Yifan tells him, working to remember every detail as best he can, while trying to skirt around Yixing's alien nature, just in case someone is listening. Chanyeol nods along like none of this is news to him, and as it turns out, it isn't.

"Baekhyun guessed that was what happened," he murmurs. "Okay, that's one thing. Two more things." He pulls up a document on his comm device and turns it towards Yifan. "This is a representation contract. It'll allow me to act in your stead while you're imprisoned."

Yifan skims it; he doesn't have the time to really read it over. It's written so that the representation ends the moment Yifan is officially released from jail. He presses his thumb to the screen, giving his consent. "If you steal my identity, I will have Baekhyun hunt you down," Yifan says.

Quirking a grin, Chanyeol snaps his comm shut. "You keep mentioning him, even when your own situation and Yixing's are so much more dire. That's cute." Yifan glares, and Chanyeol chuckles. "Alright, last thing. Where do you keep your copy of your employment contract with the hospital?"

Oh. "It's on my comm, if you can get that. Otherwise, the console in my house should be unlocked. Baek knows the address and my door code." He tells Chanyeol exactly where in his files he keeps it. "Don't snoop."

"Please. You're about as interesting as unseasoned jerky." Yifan smacks him in the shoulder. "Ow. Bitch. Listen, I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" He doesn't even change tone in between the two statements. Yifan smiles helplessly. "Do me a favor and be as sweet and un-threatening as you can. Play nice. Me proving you were wrongfully imprisoned does no one any good if you knock your guard out."

Yifan flutters his eyelashes. "Who me? I'm innocent as a baby bird."

Chanyeol mutters a Koharan oath that roughly translates to _may the gods give me the strength to face my trials._ "Save it for the judge."

He moves to pull away, but Yifan catches his wrist. "Yeol. Thanks."

A quirk of a smile, showing razor-sharp teeth. "I'm not doing it for you, but you're welcome."

Of course. Yifan nods, acknowledging that. "Tell Baek I'm sorry. He was right, and I should have trusted his instincts."

Chanyeol stares at him for a second. His expression is impassive, but Yifan can smell his emotions roiling. Then, he reaches up and pats Yifan’s cheek. "I'm not letting you weasel your way out of apologizing to him in person," he says. "But I'll tell him you love him."

Yifan's stomach swoops oddly. "Yeah," he agrees. "Do that."

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

It’s so late that it’s tomorrow by the time Chanyeol gets back, but he comes back with a gleam in his orange eyes. The EC is pretty quiet, so Baekhyun doesn’t feel too bad about allowing his brothers, Kyungsoo, and Tao to crowd around.

“Progress is made,” Chanyeol murmurs. “I found him, and got his consent to represent him. He’s fine, but he’s being held in solitary, without bail, and no one I spoke to could tell me why, exactly.” Tao makes an outraged noise and Chanyeol holds up a hand. “No, that’s good for us. That likely means someone somewhere is breaking the law, and as soon as I find out who, he’s out.” Chanyeol glances around, but the center is still empty except for them. “I couldn’t convince them to give me his comm, though, and without his identity code I don’t see a way to get access to his copy of the lab footage.” He leans on the desk. “How’s the other side going?”

“You don’t want to know,” Sehun says promptly.

Chanyeol squints at him. “I don’t want to know, or I _don’t want to know?_ ”

Sehun just grins.

“Gotcha. Okay, so, here’s my next step.” With the ease of long practice, Chanyeol changes the subject, like Sehun _didn’t_ just basically tell him their plan was illegal. Baekhyun loves his brothers. “I need to see Yifan’s employment contract. He says it’s on his home console and that Baekhyun can get me in. Baek, when are you off work?”

Baekhyun glances at the clock. “Not for another seven hours.”

“Damn.”

“I can get you into Yifan’s place, I know the code,” Tao pipes up. “And technically, I’m off now, I just stuck around.”

“Yes! Great. We’ll do that. Gods know I might need the rest of the night to study the damn thing.” He looks at Baekhyun. “You okay if we go?”

Waving him off, Baekhyun says, “Go. We’ve got work to do anyway.”

Chanyeol flashes a sharp grin, squeezes Baekhyun’s shoulder, and leaves, with Tao keeping pace at his side.

In their wake, Kyungsoo looks at Baekhyun. “So. Getting Yifan’s copy of the security footage is a no-go. Any other ideas?”

Baekhyun sighs. “I had access to that lab for all of one day. Unless all you need is a basic visual of Yixing, I can’t imagine it would be very helpful.”

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. “Would he be… obvious, on that tape?”

“No. He kept it in his pants that day.”

Kyungsoo raises the other eyebrow.

Cocking his head, Sehun says, “Well, what do you need to see, exactly? Are you looking for proof that he’s abused, or proof that he’s alien, or…?”

Huffing, Kyungsoo leans on the desk, the same way Chanyeol just did a moment ago. “Both, ideally, but one or the other on its own would help.”

Glancing at Baekhyun, Sehun murmurs, “Yixing was involved in another project before this, right? One Lee doesn’t have access to.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun says, “but neither did… I…” He realizes what Sehun is thinking and gasps. “Jongdae! Of course!”

Kyungsoo blinks impassively.

Quickly, Baekhyun explains who Jongdae is, and why it matters. “As a live-in research patient, he’d have access to basically all the security footage from that entire project. Yixing spent entire days _and nights_ with him, and I know he, uh, revealed his nature at least a few times.”

“Mmm.” Kyungsoo purses his lips thoughtfully. “Think this Jongdae would be willing to come testify in person?”

“Yixing literally saved his life,” Sehun points out softly. “I bet he would.”

Jerking his chin at the console, Kyungsoo says, “Get him on the line.”

“It’s literally the middle of the night, Soo,” Baekhyun points out.

“Ah. Yes. Good point.” Kyungsoo huffs. “I’d prefer to get those recordings tonight, but I suppose I could wait for tomorrow. I have a few other things I could work on.” He glances at the clock. “You’re here for seven more hours, you said? I’ll be back in six.” He goes to the window next to the desk and carefully picks up the dish of Yixing’s pieces. Having caught a few rays of sunlight, even through the radiation-shielded glass, they already seem greener and more perky. “I’ll be in my hotel room if anyone needs me.”

He leaves, and immediately, Sehun turns to Baekhyun.

“Finally free of the lawyers,” he says, his voice a bare murmur. “Now we can _really_ get to work.”

Baekhyun grins and opens the console, turning the screen ever so slightly so Sehun can see it. “If anyone asks,” he says, “I’m advising you on the hospital’s many wonderful services.”

“So noted. I’ll try not to get you fired.” Sehun glances over the screen. “Alright, Lee. Let’s see what you’ve been up to.”

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan is in solitary confinement for two days before Chanyeol finally gets him out. It's excruciating, and even moreso when he has no contact with anyone but his cell guard the entire time. Worse, the guard seems genuinely confused and even uneasy about Yifan's situation - but not enough to go against his orders and let Yifan out.

Then, on the morning of the third day, Chanyeol finally shows. Yifan is on his feet, jittering, ready to snap something snarky at Chanyeol for taking so long, but then he gets a whiff as the other alpha comes down the hall and his demeanor softens instinctively.

“Someone's had a rough night.”

Chanyeol's grin isn't as sharp as usual. “Don't worry, you'll be getting the bill.” The cell guard opens Yifan's door, and Yifan has never been so grateful to walk through a doorway. He clasps Chanyeol's wrist with his hand, sighing as Chanyeol wraps an arm around his shoulders. Two days without physical contact is _way_ too long. “Let's get out of here.”

Yifan managed to wait until the privacy of Chanyeol's transport before he asks, “Did you find Yixing?”

“ _I_ was chasing down your imprisonment order and disputing it.” Chanyeol starts up the transport. “Which was a bitch, by the way. I had to get city hall involved and I'm pretty sure I triggered corruption investigations into at least three officers.” He glances over as they take to the air. “Kyungsoo took Jongdae and all the evidence he could get his hands on into a court hearing early this morning. We should be hearing from them any minute here.”

“That's great and all, but _what about Yixing?_ ” Yifan stresses. “He was in bad shape two days ago!”

A sigh. “I know,” Chanyeol murmurs. “Baekhyun, Sehun and Tao have tried everything they can think of, even up to Sehun breaking into the hospital's transport records. Nothing. They can't find any trace of Yixing leaving the hospital or Lee doing anything _at all_. Either Lee’s records are hidden so well that Sehun can't find them, or he somehow managed to get Yixing out of the hospital without _leaving_ any records.”

“And we've checked that Yixing isn't still in the hospital?”

“Yeah. Tao checked every room, every lab, even talked his way into the locked ones. No sign of him.” Chanyeol's eyes are looking where they’re headed, but Yifan can sense how tired he is, how tense. “Our best hope now is that Kyungsoo can get Yixing declared a person, so we can get a missing person investigation going.”

Yifan takes a deep breath. The idea of the government or law enforcement getting involved with this still sets off all kinds of alarm bells in his mind - especially after his two day imprisonment.

As if reading his mind, Chanyeol reaches out and pats his knee. “We need resources we don't have,” he says. “Saving him is worth the chance of revealing him.”

“I know you're right,” Yifan murmurs, “but I can't help but worry.” He shifts in his seat. “How's Baek?”

“Freaking out while pretending he's not,” Chanyeol says dryly. “And trying to maintain his normal work schedule so that hospital management doesn't realize anything's wrong. We're relying on his hospital access right now, his and Tao's, so they’re both trying to act normal.” They're turning into Yifan's building. “Your employment contract was terminated, I'm sorry. Wrongfully and illegally, if you ask me.”

Yifan sighs. “I'm not surprised, honestly.”

“Yeah, well, after all this is over, I'm taking _that_ to court too. Hospital administration lets Lee do whatever he fucking pleases. Someone needs to teach them to manage their employees, and not the other way around.”

“Yeol, it's fine. I'm never going to want to go back to working there anyway.” He doesn't know _what_ he's gonna do, exactly, but going back to work like nothing happened is not an option.

“My friend, we are not suing them for your job, we're suing for _damages_. For you, for Yixing, maybe for Baekhyun too if things get any screwier. Wrongful termination is no joke, and wrongful _imprisonment_ is worse.” Big hands adjust on the controls as he brings the transport down. “Lee is fucking up left, right and center, and he _will_ answer for it.” 

Yifan isn't really sure what to say. He never really considered suing anyone before, he's not really a getting-revenge kinda guy. But the last few weeks have been so terrible, that as they walk up to Yifan's apartment and even through a nice, long shower, he finds himself considering it.

When he emerges, clean and feeling much more alive, Chanyeol has his comm to his ear. “Yeah. Okay. Listen, he just got out of the shower, can I shove some food in him before we go? Okay. We'll be there soon.” He clicks his comm shut. “Saddle up, my friend.”

Yifan is already pulling on a clean tunic. “What's going on?”

“Kyungsoo's back. Good news is, he convinced the judge. Yixing is officially a Koharan citizen, subject to all rights and responsibilities which that entails.” Chanyeol reaches over Yifan's shoulder and pulls a skirt off the rack, one of the nicest items of clothing Yifan owns. “Dress up. The other news, which hopefully is _also_ good news, is that the judge has sent a federal investigator back here to investigate the allegation of kidnapping, and if he determines it's true, to find and rescue Yixing.” Stepping to the side, Chanyeol quickly fixes his short, disheveled hair in the mirror, then hands Yifan his brush. “We've been called in for questioning.”

Great.

It's something, though, so Yifan pulls on the traditional skirt and braids his wet hair back tightly. With a quick conversation, they decide to pick up takeout and eat in the transport.

Yifan is glad for the shower and food when he realizes the interrogation is in the boardroom. Worse, it's _before the Board_ , and specifically, the Research Committee. Well… most of them.

“Where's Mr. Kwon?” Yifan asks, as they enter.

“He was excused due to illness,” Chairwoman Kim says crisply. “Dr. Wu, I don't suppose _you_ know what all this is about?”

Yifan looks up at the only person he doesn't recognize, a small Koharan omega with pale yellow hair. The investigator meets his eyes with calm, utterly complete confidence. “I believe I do, madam.”

“My name is Kim Junmyeon,” the investigator says, extending a polite hand. Yifan strokes one equally polite finger up Junmyeon's and nods. “Dr. Wu Yifan, let me start by assuring you that you are not in any trouble. We simply need to hear your testimony.” He gestures at the chair at the head of the table that Yifan has always thought of as the ‘hot seat.’

Yifan hesitates. “I'd really rather not speak in front of the entire Committee,” he says. “Is it necessary?”

Junmyeon exchanges a glance with Chairwoman Kim. The Chairwoman, in turn, looks to the remaining two members of the Committee. “You're dismissed,” she says.

The human man starts to argue, but the omega doesn’t, he just gets up and leaves. He _rushes_ out, actually, and as he goes Yifan gets a whiff of nausea from him. Is there a bug going around the hospital? Yifan hopes not, that’s always the worst.

Chairwoman Kim gets rid of the other committee member, leaving her and Junmyeon facing Yifan and Chanyeol across the table. Chanyeol introduces himself as Yifan's lawyer, which makes the Chairwoman purse her lips unhappily. Then, he looks to Junmyeon. “How would you like us to begin, investigator?

Junmyeon folds his hands on the table. “Please begin with how you became acquainted with the research patient.”

The beginning, then. Yifan takes a deep breath and launches into the story.

He does his best to walk the line between giving all the details Junmyeon may need, not only to find Yixing but even just to believe the story, and telling him more than necessary. He's all too aware of how insane he sounds, all too aware of the minutes ticking away, all too aware of Chairwoman Kim’s painted-on eyebrows getting higher and higher.

If Junmyeon finds his story unbelievable, he doesn’t show it. Yifan hopes that’s because someone already filled him in on at least some of it.

When Yifan finishes, Chanyeol tells his side of the story, beginning with his relationship to Baekhyun and why he and Sehun came across the wastes without warning that night. It’s interesting, listening to the events from his point of view. Yifan gets to hear about what Baekhyun was working on while he was putting in twelve hour shifts, and what happened while he was imprisoned.

When they’re both done, Junmyeon turns to Chairwoman Kim. “Mrs. Kim, were you aware of any of these proceedings?”

The older woman shakes her head, her permed, greying curls trembling. “No, Investigator. I was aware only of what Doctors Cho, Wu, and Lee told the Committee. Until we received the news that Doctor Wu’s employment had been terminated, I hadn’t an inkling that anything unusual was going on.” She purses her lips, with familiar disapproval in her eyes. “Until that point, I also did not realize Doctors Lee and Cho were missing.”

Junmyeon sits up straighter. “When was this?”

“Yesterday morning. The Committee Treasurer called me to ask me why the funds allocated to Doctor Wu’s project had been returned. I went to the research lab to ask Doctor Lee what was going on, and found it empty.” Her tone is flat, but the rest of the room are Koharans and Yifan knows they can all sense how frustrated she is. Yifan imagines she must be feeling pretty blindsided by all this. “A call to Hospital Administration told me the rest. Doctor Cho had terminated Yifan’s contract the night before, and as far as I can tell, no one in the hospital has heard from either doctor since that point.”

“Doctor Cho,” Junmyeon murmurs. “Not Doctor Lee?”

“Cho is my direct supervisor,” Yifan explains. “Technically, Lee isn’t even in my chain of management. Lee could remove me from the project, since he was heading it, but he couldn’t terminate my contract with the hospital. Only Cho, or someone above him in the management chain, could do that.”

The Investigator taps his thumb thoughtfully against his lips. “But the fact remains that he did do it,” he points out. “Does Lee have so much influence in the hospital, that Cho felt he must go along with him? Or did Cho make the decision himself?”

Now Chanyeol looks thoughtful, as well. “Doctor Cho told Baekhyun and Kyungsoo that Lee had shut him out, that he didn’t know where Lee had taken Yixing. Only that it was another hospital.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve already taken their statements, and listened to the recording.”

Yifan blinks. “The recording?”

“After you were arrested, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo went looking for Yixing and found Cho in the lab,” Chanyeol explains quickly. “As Yixing’s lawyer, Kyungsoo questioned him, and secretly recorded it.”

What? “Is that legal?”

“Not everywhere, no, but in this city voice recordings are legal as long as at least one party on the recording is aware that they are being recorded,” Junmyeon explains. “The recording was late in the afternoon. Mrs. Kim, you said Cho had terminated the contract that night?”

Chairwoman Kim nods. “The data admin who took the call was working the night shift. Couldn’t have been earlier than sundown.”

A blond eyebrow raises.

“You think Cho is still involved?” Chanyeol asks.

“I think it’s possibly the only lead we have, right now.” Junmyeon glances at Chanyeol. “Your youngest brother was careful how much he said to me, but I got the picture. They’ve chased down every lead they had on Lee, and came up dry.” He gets to his feet, and automatically, Yifan and Chanyeol do to. “Madam Chairwoman, I must ask the hospital’s full cooperation for my investigation. I’ll need access to everything.”

“Of course, Investigator,” she says, rising as well. “I ask only that you do nothing to alarm the patients.”

Junmyeon nods.

“Are we free to go?” Chanyeol asks.

“Please don’t leave the hospital, but otherwise, yes. I believe your friends are waiting in Doctor Wu’s original laboratory.” He’s already turning to his comm device, flicking through something. “I will be in touch with you.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol says, and drags Yifan out by the elbow.

The walk down to the lab is a little surreal. Yifan’s not really used to being in the hospital out of uniform, and his head is spinning from all of this, and he’s still worried about Yixing, sickeningly worried. “What should we do?” he asks Chanyeol. “What _can_ we do?”

“Cooperate with the investigation,” Chanyeol murmurs. “Junmyeon will have everything the hospital can tell him at his fingertips. We’ll find him, Yifan.”

It isn’t very reassuring. Yifan swallows back the unease in his throat as they open the door to his former laboratory.

It takes three seconds for Baekhyun to launch into his arms.

“Oof,” Yifan grunts, but he yanks Baekhyun close, buries his face in Baekhyun’s hair and breathes long and deep. Fuck, but two days is far too long to go without this scent. “Hi, baby. I’m okay.”

Baekhyun punches him halfheartedly in the arm. “You’re an _idiot_ ,” he mumbles. “Shit. I’m so glad you’re back.” He twines his fingers through Yifan’s, both hands, and pushes up on his toes to claim a kiss, completely heedless of his brothers and Kyungsoo watching them.

Yifan kisses back hard, overwhelmed with giddiness. His fingers flex and clench between Baekhyun’s, holding on tight. “I love you,” he mutters against Baekhyun’s mouth.

A whine. “I love you too,” Baekhyun whispers. He pulls back just enough for Yifan to see his eyes glimmer with tears, before he buries his face in Yifan’s shirt. “I’m scared for Yixing,” he says.

Shit.

Pulling him close, Yifan hugs Baekhyun tightly and looks over his head at the rest of the room. “We’re going to find Yixing,” he says, reassuring himself as much as anyone else. “We’re going to find him, and he’s going to be okay.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

It's practically impossible to tear himself away and head down to his shift, but Baekhyun somehow manages it, leaving Yifan behind with the lawyers to bang their heads against the same problem they've all been banging their heads against for the past several days.

Rather than head-banging, Sehun follows Baekhyun back down to the EC. He complains the entire way down, lamenting that he's been hobbled - now that there's an Official Government Investigation, Sehun can't continue illegally poking around without jeopardizing Yixing's case. "That guy _knew_ , Baek," he mutters under his breath. "He didn't say it, but I just _know_ he knew what we were doing. I feel like if I so much as _breathe_ illegally, he's going to know!"

"Calm down, Hun," Baekhyun murmurs as they pass through the EC doors. "He's got bigger targets than a university kid who's a little bit hack-happy." The front desk is unmanned. "Huh, that's odd. I wonder who's supposed to be on shift?"

Sehun hangs back as Baekhyun steps behind the desk and checks the roster on the console. His eyebrows shoot up.

"Tao's on the schedule. That's weird, he's _never_ late." He looks up, and Sehun looks down, and Baekhyun can see that he's just had the same train of thought. What if something happened? What if they've gotten Tao hurt, fired, arrested, because they brought him into this mess?

Sehun flicks his comm open and fires off a quick message. 

A moment later, there's a faint beep from the first examination room. Exchanging another look, Baekhyun and Sehun move at the same time.

The door's locked. Baekhyun swipes it unlocked with his comm and opens the door - and _immediately_ yells. "Whoa!"

Tao sits up, startled. Underneath him, Jongin, shirtless and flushed and wild-haired, pushes up onto his elbows with wide eyes.

"Fuck me sideways," Sehun breathes, barely audible.

Baekhyun's already starting forward. "Tao, what the _hell!_ You're _on duty!_ "

Red eyes snap up to the time readout. "Shit," Tao mutters. "Didn't realize it was so late."

His fear flips entirely around and becomes frustration. "You irresponsible fucking -"

"Baek." Sehun's hand winds around Baekhyun's elbow, holding him back. "Cut him some slack. We're all tired and stressed."

_But why should he get to be with his lover when I can't go be with mine,_ Baekhyun's mind screams. He recognizes that this is both unfair and unproductive, though, so he clamps his mouth shut and just stalks out of the room, going to take care of the new patients waiting in confusion at the empty front desk.

There's a little rush, four new intakes right in a row, and by the time Tao comes back out, looking a bit glassy-eyed and rumpled, Baekhyun has calmed down a bit.

"The fuck was that?" he asks, in a much more reasonable tone of voice.

Tao glances at his boyfriend, who is currently talking with Sehun as they exit the room. "He brought me lunch." Jongin is more rumpled than Tao, and makes it look sexier, and Sehun, to Baekhyun's dismay, is practically drooling. As if Baekhyun needs _that_ kind of drama right now.

"And you thought it would be a good idea to drag him into an exam room and _jump him_?"

Licking his lips, Tao's eyes flick from Sehun to Jongin and back again, and Baekhyun can actually see his gaze dragging down to Sehun's ass and staying there. "I didn't really get to the point of thinking at _all_ , Baek."

His voice is nearly a purr, what the fuck. Baekhyun needs a freaking spray bottle. "Go cool off," he says, grabbing Tao by the shoulders and turning him bodily towards the restrooms. "Splash some water on yourself and wake the fuck up. We have work to do."

Tao goes. Baekhyun turns back to his job, ignoring Sehun flirting obnoxiously with his coworker's boyfriend in the corner, ignoring them exchanging messaging handles and shy smiles. Over the last few days as Tao has become more and more involved, it's become increasingly obvious that Sehun's attraction to the tall theta is mutual, and Baekhyun was counting on Tao's relationship to keep his baby brother out of trouble. Now, though, he thinks that Jongin isn't going to be nearly the deterrent he had hoped.

It's none of his business. It's _not_. Sehun's more than a few years into adulthood both physically and legally, and his private life is his own. It's just that... Tao is _Tao_. His heart is in the right place, but his judgement...

Well. If he fucks up, he'll answer to _both_ of Sehun's brothers. That should be caution enough.

Eventually, Tao comes back out, looking a bit less glazed. He murmurs his goodbyes to his boyfriend, a five-finger hand squeeze and a swift kiss on the cheek, and Jongin says goodbye to Sehun with a (way too soon, highly inappropriate) two-finger greeting gesture, and waves politely to Baekhyun before he leaves. Sehun starts - very unsubtly - questioning Tao about his relationship, how they met, how long they've been together, that kind of thing. Baekhyun sighs and leaves them to flirt, going to re-set some of the exam rooms.

When he's done and returning to the desk, a familiar silver braid catches his eye. Yifan is leaning tiredly on the desk with his back to Baekhyun, chatting with Tao.

The sight of him literally does things to Baekhyun's insides that no other person has ever done before.

Yifan turns his head slightly, glancing over his shoulder, like he knew Baekhyun was there. His smile is soft, grateful. "Hi."

"Hey." He's more professional than _some_ people, so despite the fact that he would really like to climb Yifan's long form and kiss him senseless, Baekhyun settles for sliding his fingers between Yifan's and giving his hand a squeeze. "Any news?"

A sad shake of the head. "Only that Cho definitely lied to you about Lee shutting him out," Yifan murmurs. "The investigator got their comm records from the hospital. Nothing we could use to find Yixing, no locations, but Lee's definitely been directing Cho since before I was arrested." His hand flexes restlessly in Baekhyun's. "I'm so furious. I can't believe I trusted that sorry excuse for a doctor."

"He was your boss, Yifan," Tao points out in a low voice. "And most of the time, he was a good one. You can't have known he would act like this in an extreme situation, when all you'd ever seen him in was normal, non-extreme ones."

Yifan shoves his shoulder lightly. "Yah, child, don't talk to me like you're all wise."

He sounds like he's joking around, and Baekhyun grins, because he knows they're old friends but hasn't really had the chance yet to see that. But Tao doesn't really react the way Baek would expect - doesn't really react at all. He curls in on himself a little, flashes a bare smile.

Instantly, Yifan's demeanor changes. "Tao? You okay?" He drops into a crouch, looking up under Tao's fringe at his face. "You smell sick."

"I feel sick," Tao admits. "Baek, I gotta - can you - "

Baek takes his elbow and helps him up. "I'll cover. Go." Tao goes, and Yifan goes with him.

Frowning, Sehun leans on the desk. "That's weird. He was fine, earlier."

"Taekwoon went home last night as well," Baekhyun says. "It's probably just a bug. There's a lot of those in a hospital, you know? Unavoidable. And sometimes they only hit the humans or the..."

He stops, and slowly looks up, unseeing. In his mind, all of the pieces are falling into place.

"Baekhyun?"

"Tao doesn't just jump his boyfriend during work for no reason," Baekhyun thinks out loud. "Jongin brings him lunch all the time, but that's never happened. He looked so out of it. And now he's sick? And Taekwoon was nauseous, too, he went home near the end of his shift last night."

Baekhyun quickly pulls up the staff records on his console. It takes him seconds to access the hospital attendance roster, and just one click on the absences filter brings it all together.

"Thirty-seven members of the hospital staff have gone home sick in the middle of their shift in the last day," he says quickly. "And _every single one of them is Koharan._ "

Sehun's eyes go wide. "Yixing. He's still here."

Baekhyun nods. "He's _still in the hospital._ "

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

Yifan rushes out of the bathroom, only to find that Baekhyun's already come to the same conclusion he did. Tao, who seems to feel better after puking up all the pink in his system, volunteers to cover, so the two of them and Sehun race up the stairs and down the hall to the Board meeting room, where Junmyeon has set up his makeshift office.

“He's still in the hospital,” Baekhyun blurts out, before Yifan even has the chance to speak.

Junmyeon's expression doesn't change, but his scent does. “Explain,” he commands.

So Baekhyun explains about Yixing's pheromones and how they affect Koharans. He leaves out the aphrodisiac effect; Yifan thinks that's probably smart of him. “I realized it when my coworker suddenly fell ill,” he says.

“The bright pink vomit is kind of a big clue,” Yifan adds dryly.

“That would certainly explain why half of this committee became sick,” Chairwoman Kim says thoughtfully, and, Gods, Yifan is an _idiot_. He should have figured this out hours ago!

“Why aren't you or I sick, then?” Junmyeon asks Yifan. “Why isn't Chanyeol?”

“It's a delayed effect. You need a certain amount of exposure over a certain amount of time. We haven't been in the hospital long enough, I'd wager.” It's possible that he and Chanyeol might have something of an immunity as well, but Yifan doesn't bring that up. “The point is, Yixing must be somewhere within the hospital, somewhere that his pheromones could get into the ventilation system. We need to search _everything_.”

“...Oh.”

The four of them turn to look at Chairwoman Kim, who blinks, looking far off.

“Oh, of _course_.” She refocuses, snapping her attention back. “About ten years ago, hospital fire safety regulations underwent a major overhaul. The laboratory facilities at the time could not reasonably be brought up to the new code, so they were decommissioned, and the new labs built.” A greying eyebrow raises. “The old labs are in the basement, right next to the air circ units. And only staff who have been here for at least ten years would know about them. I'd only just come on board at the time, I'd nearly forgotten about them myself.”

Yifan could _kiss_ her. He doesn't, of course, but he feels like he could.

“Lee has been with the hospital for fifteen years,” Junmyeon points out. “And it would explain why no one else has stumbled across them. The basement, you said?” He's already pulling on his suit jacket, which covers up both his badge and the regulation laser pistol on his hip.

“Yes. Take the south side stairs, then down the hall second from the left. It's right under the maternity ward.”

“We're going with you,” Yifan says quickly.

He's prepared to argue, but Junmyeon only says, “Yes, you are. All three of you.” Sehun blinks, surprised, and Junmyeon flashes a swift smile. “I need backup, but I'm under strict orders not to reveal Yixing's nature to anyone unnecessarily. So you're it.”

“We should call Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says. “And Kyungsoo. Maybe Tao, too.”

“I don't really think that's necessary, and we don't know how dire Yixing's situation might be. We're going now.” He nods quickly to Chairwoman Kim. “Thank you, Chairwoman. Please call local law enforcement and ask them to stand by for an arrest.”

She gets to her feet. “Absolutely.”

“Let's go.”

Yifan has worked here longer than Baekhyun, but Baekhyun apparently knows the hospital better, because he ends up leading the way. “How should we go in?” Yifan asks as they move.

“I'm going to let you lead,” Junmyeon says, very quietly. “Hopefully you can surprise them into telling us exactly what they're doing. I'll be recording.” He taps his finger on an innocuous-looking pin on his lapel. “Nurse Byun, your focus is on Yixing, alright? Once we get in there, you get him out, no matter what else might happen.” Baekhyun nods, looking determined. 

“What about me, sir?” Sehun asks.

“You're getting us in there in the first place, Mr. Hacker,” Junmyeon says.

They're almost to the bottom of the stairs. The door to the basement is locked. When Baekhyun swipes his comm, he gets back a red UNAUTHORIZED, and everyone realizes when Junmyeon means by that.

Sehun looks to Junmyeon, who nods. “Alright. Give me a minute.”

They wait, tense and silent, as Sehun goes to work. It takes him a few minutes - which, considering what he’s doing, is an impressively short amount of time, actually - but soon enough, the readout goes blue and Sehun opens the door.

Junmyeon squeezes his pin and nods to Yifan. Taking a deep breath, Yifan starts forward.

The walk down the second hall on the left is short enough, but Yifan is sinking into Crisis Mode, the same calm washing over him that does when a patient’s condition starts to plummet. Time seems like it takes longer, and Yifan is hyper aware of Junmyeon indicating Sehun should stay put at the doorway, indicating that Baekhyun should stay with him, following Yifan at a distance.

Finally, he reaches the door. It’s thick and heavy, meant to block sound, but Yifan can hear familiar voices before he even reaches it, and Yixing's scent hits him like a wave, thick and too sour, sickening. _They’re in there,_ he signs back over his shoulder, and turns his attention to the door as he hears Baekhyun murmuring the translation to Junmyeon.

The door is deadbolted. Not an ID-keyed lock, but an old fashioned, solid, physically keyed lock.

Yifan looks over to Junmyeon and mimes a kick. Raising an eyebrow, Junmyeon nods.

Deep breath. Wind up.

Kick the door in.

It takes a couple of shots, but Yifan is strong, and more importantly, he’s _mad_. The first kick shakes the frame; the second makes the metal start to bend. The third, precisely placed, rips the deadbolt out from its socket, and the door slams open.

Both Dr. Lee and Dr. Cho stare at him, startled and horrified. Yifan doesn’t care, because Yixing is there, curled up on an examination table under a sun lamp and looking terrifyingly shriveled and weak.

“Are you _insane?_ ” Cho asks. It seems like it just falls out of his mouth in his surprise.

“No,” Yifan says, too calmly. “I’m here to rescue my patient from the abuses of so-called doctors.”

Dr. Lee steps in his way. “You are no longer a doctor at this hospital,” he says pointedly. He smells awful, anger and desperation mixing with nausea. “You _have_ no patients.”

Honestly, it’s only the knowledge that he’s being recorded that keeps Yifan from doing something violent and permanent. “And you have no ethics. Yixing is _dying_.”

Lee sneers. “Who cares?”

Bingo. As far as Yifan is concerned, that evidence is damning enough. He starts forward.

Cho gets between them, a pleading hand on Yifan's chest. “We're almost there,” he says quickly. “We're so close, I promise you. Another day, maybe two, no more than that. Then we'll have it and he can go.”

“You know,” Yifan snaps, “I used to have a lot of respect for you, as a doctor, a boss, and a man. But you're a liar and a coward, Cho.” He gestures at Yixing's shivering form. “This is _wrong_. And you know, I think you know that. I think you _know_ how wrong it is.” Cho’s expression twitches, but his scent says what he's trying to hide. He's conflicted, and he's scared. Yifan pounces on it. “This is _over_ , believe me. Standing with Lee right now is going to go badly for you.”

Glancing between them, Cho wavers. Yifan pushes him aside, and he lets Yifan though, which is probably smart of him.

Lee, apparently, does not have the same instinct of self preservation. “I am too close to solving this to let you interfere now,” he snaps, pushing Yifan back. “This is going to make me a hero. I'm saving humankind.”

“No,” Yifan says. “You're killing my friend.”

Lee sneers again, and Yifan has had enough. His elbow whips out before he thinks the better of it, slamming into the side of Lee's head. 

Lee goes down, and Yifan steps over him to Yixing's side.

Yixing is… small. Too small. He’s lost weight, lost _mass_ , his body shriveling in on itself. The line of bark down his spine is discolored and too exposed, and he doesn’t move, doesn’t show any response at all to Yifan’s presence. For a terrifying moment, Yifan thinks they’re too late.

But when he strokes careful fingers down Yixing’s spine, he gets a weak shudder, and Yixing turns his head to look up. His eyes have reverted back to their most rudimentary state, grainy like the center of a flower.

“Yifan,” he mouths, barely understandable.

Heat and a familiar scent announces Baekhyun’s presence, seconds before he reaches out to stroke Yixing’s head. “We’re getting you out of here,” Baekhyun signs.

Yixing’s head falls back down. “Good,” he mouths.

A week ago, Yixing would have been too dense and heavy for Baekhyun to lift. Now, though, Baekhyun has little trouble gathering Yixing carefully in his arms and picking him up off the table. “We’ll be in the park out back,” he murmurs to Yifan. Yifan nods, and keeps himself in between them and his former employers until they leave the room.

Junmyeon lets Baekhyun pass, then steps through the door. On the floor, Lee freezes where he was in the middle of getting to his feet. “Who are you?”

Flashing his identification, Junmyeon says, “Kim Junmyeon, federal investigator.”

Instantly, the scent landscape of the room changes. Fear swamps everything else, so thick that Yifan can’t even tell whether it’s coming from Lee, from Cho, or both.

Cho spreads his hands, conciliatory. “Investigator, I can explain…” Junmyeon stares at him with eyebrow raised, and Cho falls silent.

“Doctors Lee and Cho, you’re both under arrest for medical malpractice, patient abuse, and kidnapping.”

Two sets of eyes, one yellow and one blue, widen. “On what grounds?” Dr. Lee asks wildly, scrambling to his feet. “That thing isn’t even _human_ , let alone _Koharan!_ ”

Oh, Yifan is so glad this is being recorded. “That _thing_ , Doctor, is a _person_ , a living and sentient citizen of Kohara which you have abused _in my presence._ ”

Clearly, this catches Lee off guard. “What? Citizen?”

If he stays here, Yifan is going to punch Lee again. Probably harder than before. And if his ears are not deceiving him... “Investigator,” Yifan says. “Is my presence still required?”

Junmyeon’s lips twitch. He’s heard it too, but Lee is apparently either too freaked out to notice, or doesn’t realize what the sound means. “No, Doctor Wu. You can go.”

Yifan goes. As he passes through the doorway, four armed police officers push by him, directed into the room by Sehun. Yifan grabs Sehun’s arm as he passes. “We’ll let them do their job, hmm?”

Both of them jog down the hall and race up the stairs and out the fire exit on the ground floor. The park behind the hospital is not far, just across the street and around the corner. It’s the middle of the afternoon, the red sun is huge and painfully bright in the sky, and hardly anyone is outside except for a few figures huddled in the middle of the field.

As they get closer, Yifan sees that Baekhyun is on the ground, holding Yixing in his arms, and Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are with them. Kyungsoo is on his knees in front of them - talking to Yixing, it looks like - and Chanyeol is standing over them, obviously keeping watch. “Everything alright?” he asks under his breath as Yifan and Sehun approach.

“Being arrested as we speak,” Sehun replies. Yifan doesn’t bother to answer, he pushes past and drops to the ground next to Baekhyun, careful to position himself so his shadow doesn’t block Yixing’s access to the sun.

“Hey,” Baekhyun murmurs. “Thank you.”

Yifan kisses his forehead. “Thank _you_. How is he?”

A too-small, too-shaky hand, with several fingers still missing, reaches up and cups his cheek. “I… am good. Yifan.” It’s voiceless, but Yifan automatically watches his lips now.

“I’m sorry we took so long,” Yifan signs. “We couldn’t find you.”

It’s hard for Yixing to sign, so weak and with missing fingers, but he tries, and his mouth moving makes it clear enough to understand. “Tried to… tell you. Where.”

Yifan’s throat fills up. “Yes, Yixing,” he signs. “That was how we finally found you. Very clever.”

A ghost of a smile.

“I don’t have much to compare to, other than the video Jongdae showed me,” Kyungsoo says softly. “But he looks like he’s in bad shape. Is there anything we can do?”

Yifan translates the question, and Yixing shakes his head a little. “I... rest. They don’t… come… back.”

“Never,” Baekhyun signs. “You’re safe, and they’re never coming near you again.”

Another little smile. “Yes. I won’t… let them.”

His head falls against Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun adjusts him a little in his arms, grunting, and Yifan pushes his own shoulder behind Baekhyun’s back, taking some of his weight.

They end up staying out there for a long time, sitting in a little circle of protection on the dry, spiky grass, talking about what comes next. Kyungsoo assures them all that he’ll continue to represent Yixing if Yixing wants it, and he and Chanyeol talk lawyer things for a while, about the evidence they have and what they think they can get for it. Yifan doesn’t really feel super comfortable with the predatory tone of the conversation, but Baekhyun and Yixing safe and close by more than mitigates his discomfort. It’s not over, not entirely, but Yifan allows himself to hope that the _worst_ is over, at least.

After a good half an hour, they are joined by Tao, who is now off-shift, and, surprisingly, by Junmyeon. “I hope I’m not intruding,” the investigator says, as Tao plops down between Yifan and Sehun without even a tiny consideration as to whether he is intruding. “I just wanted to check on you all, and let you know that Lee and Cho are on their way to holding cells as we speak.”

At Yifan’s side, Baekhyun deflates in relief. “Thank you,” he says, sincerely.

“No need to thank me for doing my job.” Junmyeon shifts his weight. “Not that you all didn’t practically do my job for me. All you needed was legal authority, and I’m more than happy to have provided that.” He shifts his weight again, glancing at Yixing. Yifan can smell his curiosity.

“If you don’t have anywhere to be,” Yifan says, “sit with us for a while. You should meet Yixing.”

Junmyeon’s lips quirk. “Alright. Those two can stew in cells for a while, a few extra minutes won’t hurt them.” He looks around, and Chanyeol scoots closer to Kyungsoo, leaving space for Junmyeon to sit between him and Sehun. Baekhyun pretends he doesn’t notice Junmyeon passing Sehun his card. “When you finish school, call me.” Sehun blinks, and Junmyeon keeps talking like that never happened. “Oh, in case you were curious, I leaned on Cho a little. Didn’t take long to get him to agree to testify against Lee in exchange for a reduced sentence.” Junmyeon shrugs. “Lee was really the mastermind here, he’s the one I want put away for as long as possible.”

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol immediately jump back into their conversation regarding evidence and charges, and Yifan tunes them out, turning to Baekhyun and Yixing. “Is it just me,” he says, “or does Yixing look a little better already?”

“He feels heavier,” Baekhyun agrees. “Maybe we should see if he can sit up?”

Yifan nods. “Contact with the ground might help him? Though honestly I think the sun and air is doing the most.” Baekhyun nudges Yixing into sitting, and Yifan reaches to help. “Obviously, there was some crucial nutrient missing from whatever those two assholes were doing to keep him alive. Something in the air, maybe? Who knows.”

Once he’s vertical, it’s more clear how much damage was done, but also, how fast Yixing is healing. Most of the skin that had covered his torso is gone, allowing them to watch as the raw ends of truncated vines close over and smooth out. He’s half-unravelled, his form back to being only vaguely humanoid, except his face.

The pendant that Yifan bought for him, the unicorn, is no longer on a string around his neck. It’s embedded in his _chest_. Yifan reaches out to touch it.

A vine reaches up and strokes over Yifan’s hand. _They tried to take it away,_ Yixing signs, supple vines beginning to grow where his missing fingers once were. _I would not let them._

“Yixing,” Yifan signs. “Why didn’t you fight back? They were hurting you.”

Yixing cocks his head. Like that very first night they met, the motion is clearly and obviously controlled by shifting vines in his neck. _Fight back? No. I help, Yifan._

Nodding, Yifan brushes a kiss over his forehead, the same way as he did to Baekhyun earlier. “We’ll keep working on it,” he signs. “Just you and me. We’ll figure out how to make it work.”

Smiling, Yixing shakes his head. _Not we,_ he signs. _Me. I will help, Yifan. I know how, now._

What?

Yixing stands.

It’s slow, and laborious. Yifan jumps to his feet, instinctively catching Yixing as he wavers. Baekhyun’s up in the next second, and the rest of the circle follows, conversations abruptly ceasing as they realize something’s going on.

“Yixing,” Baekhyun signs, “where are you going? You need to rest.”

_No,_ Yixing signs back. He’s moving a little easier, now. _I need to help. Let me help, Baekhyun._

“Maybe he’s disoriented?” Tao murmurs.

Baekhyun tugs Kyungsoo over by his shirt sleeve. “Yixing, this is Kyungsoo. He made it so that you are a citizen of this planet.” Kyungsoo, looking more than a little startled at suddenly being thrust into the spotlight, holds up a hand. Yixing slides a finger up his. “You belong here now, Yixing. This can be your home.”

It’s the way he says it, the desperation in his voice, that makes Yifan realize what he’s thinking. He thinks Yixing is trying to _leave._ Not just this place, not just their little circle in the park. Baekhyun thinks Yixing is going to leave _Kohara._

Yixing smiles at Kyungsoo. It’s closer to a full smile, a little rough around the edges, but he’s trying. _Thank you,_ he signs, as Tao translates under his breath for the non-signing part of the group. _I am glad I belong._ He looks up. _Yes. This will be my home._

That’s clear enough that Yifan feels and smells Baekhyun’s distress receding. Yixing pulls away, and this time, Baekhyun lets him go. He takes a bare few steps forward, stops, and turns in place. _Baekhyun, Yifan. You have helped me, and protected me. Now, I will help you._

He closes his eyes.

Nothing happens, at first. Everyone is holding their breath. What is he doing? Is he just soaking up the sun? Feeling the grass between his toes?

Yifan looks down at Yixing’s toes, half-expecting to see them wiggling into the dirt. But they’re - they’re _gone._ In fact, the entire shape of his _feet_ is gone, his legs unravelling and twining together into one stem as he sinks into the ground.

“He’s taking root,” Yifan blurts out.

“Holy fuck,” Chanyeol mutters.

“What?” Baekhyun drops to his knees, brushing at the dirt around what used to be Yixing’s ankles. Sure enough, under the surface his vines are spreading, digging into the earth, reaching out and stabilizing him. “Yixing, _no._ Oh my _god._ ” He scrambles up and gets in front of Yixing’s face, tugging it down from where it’s turned up towards the sun. “What are you doing? Please don’t leave us!”

Yixing smiles, and pulls Baekhyun’s face close with one hand, and kisses him gently. _I’m not leaving, Baekhyun,_ he signs. _I will be here. I will always be right here._

He gives Baekhyun a little push, and reaches for Yifan. Yifan steps closer. He’s not looking down as far as he usually does - Yixing’s rearranging, stretching, his body thinning into a single stem. His face is beginning to disassemble.

_I didn’t understand before,_ Yixing signs. _Now I do. I’m sorry I took so long._ He reaches up and cups Yifan’s face.

“Don’t be sorry.” Yifan presses Yixing’s hand against the side of his face, his heart pounding as he feels it dissolve into vines right under his fingers. “We love you.”

_I know,_ Yixing signs. His hands are pretty much gone now, and the signs are formed from the ends of his vines instead of his fingers. _I love you too. Don’t be sad. It will be better this way._

He pulls away and lifts his arms into the air. From the fingers down, they unravel, vines splitting and growing out over his head like…

Like the branches of a tree?

“Step back,” Junmyeon says suddenly. “Please, everyone step back!”

They all obey except Baekhyun, who has to be forcibly pulled away from Yixing by his brothers. “No, fuck, Yixing, don’t do this,” he says. The tears rolling down his face force Yifan to breathe through his own, pulling Baekhyun into his arms. Baekhyun clings to him. “What’s happening to him?”

“Whatever it is,” Yifan says numbly, “he chose to do it, Baekhyun. We have to let him make that choice.”

Yixing is growing rapidly now, his body thinning until all that’s recognizable is his face. He smiles at them, and mouths, “Thank you.”

Then, the vines that had made his shoulders swirl up and encase his face, and everything recognizable is gone. Vines twist together into branches, spreading over their heads, until finally it stops, and where Yixing had stood there is now an alien tree, and the only thing left that makes it clear this is still Yixing is the silver unicorn’s head pendant, now embedded in the trunk at eye-level.

A tiny, ever-curious part of Yifan’s mind starts cataloguing this new form, how it’s different from the shrub he originally grew as and the mobile form he later took, how it’s similar. The vast majority of his mind, though, is consumed with the pain he can feel radiating from Baekhyun’s entire being, and the numb, disbelieving thought that Yixing will never kiss him, cup his cheek, or smile, ever again.

Silence.

“I’m… I’m guessing this was not expected,” Kyungsoo murmurs, very softly.

“On the bright side,” Chanyeol says, “it’s not real likely that he’ll be in danger of getting kidnapped again.”

Baekhyun’s laugh is more of a sob. Sehun punches Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Rustling makes them all look up. One branch, still smooth and flexible and formed from vines, dips down and comes to rest right in front of Baekhyun. At the end, there is a furled white bud, unlike anything Yifan has seen on Yixing before.

Yifan sees the bud wavering, and his hand shoots out reflexively. It falls into his hand, along with a little knobby ball of thin, vine-like roots.

The branch shifts and forms shapes. Forms _signs._

_Take this,_ Yixing signs. _Keep me with you always, and I will keep you safe._

Shocked, sniffling and blinking back tears, Baekhyun takes the bud from Yifan’s hand. 

The moment he takes it, a beautiful white flower blooms.

 

~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~  
~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~  
~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~

 

The guard at the gate doesn't even bother checking their identification. He made that mistake his first day on the job, and Baekhyun’s snotty comeback had instilled enough fear in him that he never did it again.

It wasn’t his fault, really. After all, technically speaking, the property is Yixing’s, which means this guard is employed by Yixing. That was Kyungsoo’s idea, and a good one it was, too - using the proceeds from their quite successful lawsuit to outright purchase the park behind the hospital, put up the fence, and hire a guard. All done by Kyungsoo and Yifan, in Yixing’s name.

Inconvenient, but necessary. Yixing, though they all did their absolute best to stop it, is pretty famous these days.

It’s been five years, now, since they met Yixing. Baekhyun honestly barely remembers what he looked like in his humanoid form, what it felt like to kiss him, the color of his eyes. Yixing still _has_ eyes, of a sort, but they don’t look at all human.

That’s probably a good thing, honestly. The idea of human eyes on a six-meter-tall tree is more than a bit unsettling.

As the gate opens, Luhan ducks around the guard and runs forward. The lanky pre-med student is Yifan and Baekhyun’s ward for the next few years while he finishes school, living with them as his adopted family just as Baekhyun lived with the Parks over a decade ago. He’s not their kid, but he acts like he’s their kid, and Yixing certainly _dotes_ on him like an indulgent uncle, as much as a tree is capable of doting, anyway.

“Hi, Yixing,” Baekhyun calls, though of course, his voice isn’t much help. Yixing is still deaf. He signs it too, though, and the tree responds, one branch near the bottom unfurling and forming, while not exactly a hand, something able to make recognizable signs.

_Hi, Baekhyun,_ Yixing signs. _Hi, Yifan. Thank you for coming tonight._

Yifan reaches up to stroke the branch with one hand, and pulls Baekhyun into his side with the other. “Of course,” he signs. “It’s pretty rare that you ask us for anything.”

Luhan is already seated at the base of Yixing’s trunk, now entirely covered in that thin bark, and happily carrying on a conversation of his own with a different branch. From this distance, it’s hard to see what they’re signing, but it looks like Yixing is asking about his latest test scores.

“So what’s so special about tonight, Xing?” Baekhyun asks.

The branch reaches down and caresses the side of his face. _I have felt strange for a few weeks now,_ Yixing signs, _and not long ago I realized why. It is time for me to find another world._

At his side, Baekhyun feels Yifan stiffen, freezing in place. “But you said you would stay,” Baekhyun signs hurriedly. “You promised you wouldn’t leave!”

The tip of the vine taps his nose fondly. _I won’t. I will be here. But it is time._

“Okay, _what?_ ” Yifan mutters. He doesn’t sign it.

Apparently, he doesn’t have to. _I feel… heavy._ The branch that is lowered to their level gesticulates a little - not a sign, more of an attempt at an expression. _It is hard to explain, I don’t have the words. But I know it is time. My buds are… ready, I suppose._

Baekhyun’s hand automatically goes to his neck, where Yixing’s gift rests in a polymer glass terrarium hung from a thin chain. As always, the petals of the flower respond to his touch, curling around his fingers.

Yixing’s buds, they discovered, are the reason he chose to take root. As Yixing himself explained - once he was recovered enough to be able to form coherent thoughts again - they are the only part of him which is meant to be detached, and thus, they are the part of him which he can freely give away. Over the last five years, Yixing has steadily been giving pieces of himself to the humans who need it most, with the help of Jongdae and his brother Minseok to handle the finicky logistics.

In this city, radiation poisoning has become a thing of the past, and they hope to be able to spread the effect as Yixing grows larger.

“Ready?” Yifan asks. “Ready for what?”

_Ready to fly._

The branch pushes them both gently back, and over near the trunk, Luhan receives the same treatment. He gets up and comes over to them. “What’s going on?”

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Baekhyun murmurs. He tugs Luhan closer, and Luhan rests his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder as Yifan’s fingers wind between Baekhyun’s.

Yixing’s branches all begin to droop, opening up at the center like he’s one massive flower himself. At the top, at the very center, are three white blooms, each easily three times the size of the one Baekhyun wears.

“Oh,” Yifan whispers. “Oh, I _get it._ ”

“What?” Baekhyun tears his gaze away for a second, to look up at his mate. “What do you get?”

Yifan shakes his head, starlight reflecting indigo in his wide eyes. “He’s not leaving,” Yifan says in wonderment. “His _children_ are.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth to ask the obvious question, but Yifan’s eyes widening even further draw his attention back to the top of Yixing’s branches. The three flowers have opened too far, the petals drooping like they’re wilting, and Baekhyun nearly yells in alarm before he sees the swelling in the center of each, taking over the stems.

“They’re fruit,” Yifan explains. “They’re… _seeds_ , I guess. That process should take days, not _seconds_.”

Baekhyun snorts. “Yixing does like to rush these things, doesn’t he?”

Yixing’ branches seem to curl inwards, pulling up towards his stem. In the next moment, there’s a loud _bang_ like a pulse canon, startling Baekhyun so badly he jumps in place.

Three lines of white light shoot straight up into the night sky, like tiny comets.

Yifan starts to laugh. “That’s brilliant,” he exclaims, as Yixing’s branches relax, uncurl. “I mean, other than being one of the _more_ spectacular ways to reproduce I’ve ever heard of… Those three seeds are going to explore space now, aren’t they?” He’s signing again now, directing the question at Yixing. “Some day, hundreds or maybe thousands of years from now, they will each find a new planet and start a new life in a different form.”

Yixing’s signs seem sluggish. _Yes,_ he tells them. _I go now to find life._

Shaking his head, Yifan says, “Genetic memory. Yixing doesn’t remember his own previous lives in different bodies, he’s remembering his _ancestor’s_ lives.” His grip on Baekhyun’s hand tightens. “He _isn’t_ alone. He’s an _entire race_.”

Baekhyun is already moving forward. “Yes, well, this entire race appears to be feeling the very understandable effects of childbirth,” he mutters. He reaches up, but Yixing’s branches are still too high for him to reach. “Xing, are you okay? You look weak.”

_I will be fine, Baekhyun. Thank you._ The tree branches shudder, and then relax, like Yixing is taking a deep breath. _That is the first time I have done that, and I think… I think it may be the only time._

“It looked like it took a lot of energy.”

_It did. But it is over now._ Yixing rearranges himself a bit. _Now that that is done, I am able to return to my previous form, you know._

Baekhyun freezes. “Oh. Oh my God.”

_I do not think it is time, yet. I can still help more._ He reaches down and taps Luhan’s head. _Perhaps in a few years, after this one has flown. Perhaps by then, my work will be done._

As Yifan comes up behind Baekhyun and wraps a hand around his waist, Luhan makes a face and pushes Yixing’s branch away from his hair. “I guess we’re gonna be running a nursing home for retired aliens,” he quips.

Baekhyun leans his head against Yifan’s chest, and intertwines their fingers. “I can live with that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end!
> 
> Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who commented on this. Wow. This got a much better reaction than I was expecting, honestly.
> 
> Special thanks to Line for inspiring this, to C and O for betaing it, and to all the people in my life who listened to me whine about it. And an EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to my husband, who came up with the idea of Yixing taking root at the end and made me burst into tears in the middle of a restaurant. That's how you know it's a good idea - when you start crying just thinking about it.
> 
> If you've got questions about this story, or about anything else I write, come visit my [ask box](http://ask.fm/unnie_bee).
> 
> I'm hoping to be back again with another longfic in early 2017, but I make no promises. Until then, my friends!

**Author's Note:**

> [come talk to me](http://ask.fm/unnie_bee)


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